Gruden sees 'a lot of potential for trades' with Raiders' picks

The rebuilding Oakland Raiders have three first-round picks to work with at the 2019 NFL Draft, but that doesn't necessarily mean they'll be keeping all of them.

Head coach Jon Gruden says anything can happen on draft day, including Oakland moving first-rounders.

"I think so," Gruden said Friday on "The Game Plan" podcast when asked if his team could trade the No. 24 and No. 27 selections for the right player.

The Raiders acquired the No. 24 and No. 27 picks from the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys, respectively, when they shipped away Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper. They also hold their own selection at No. 4.

"I think there's a lot of potential for trades," Gruden continued. "I think that's one of the things I'm really excited about. (New Raiders general manager) Mike Mayock, what he brings to the table, he's got great resources around the NFL. He's been in every building, he's on a first-name basis, everybody knows Mike.

"And I think he's gonna be on the phones quite a bit, not only with those two picks you talked about. Who knows, we may move up with the No. 4 pick, we may move back with that pick. We'll see how it all unfolds."

Gruden also touched on free agency, slated to open March 11. He explained that while most of the Raiders' recent focus has been on studying players soon to hit the market, the team doesn't want to hinder its flexibility before the draft begins on April 25.

"We'll see where the market goes," he said. "But you don't want to spend all your money that you have on a few free agents, you want to try to keep some of that money available in case a trade might develop during the draft."

The Raiders went 4-12 in 2018 and have one winning year in their last 16 seasons.

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