There are still too many needs on this team to narrow it to five."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Raiders StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Raiders NewsYahoo Raiders Team PageYahoo Raiders ReportYahoo Raiders Depth ChartYahoo Raiders TransactionsYahoo Raiders PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ✕Raiders Draft 2019Raiders top six need positions heading into 2019 NFL draftNew Antonio Brown Raiders Jersey ,78commentsThere are still too many needs on this team to narrow it to five.PDTShareTweetShareShareRaiders top six need positions heading into 2019 NFL draftChuck Cook-USA TODAY SportsWe haven’t put out a top five need positions piece since before the start of free agency in which the Raiders went about adding a few starters at key positions. Most notably, they helped out the wide receiver position, offensive tackle spot, and cornerback.With the draft a little over two weeks away, it’s time to put together the updated top five team needs. Actually, better make that six, because it’s just not possible to narrow it down to five.1. Edge rusherThe need here has remained unchanged which is easily the most stunning non-development of this offseason. It’s getting tiresome repeating the same stats the Raiders had at the position, but being that they have not added any help here, it bears repeating. They had a league-low 13 sacks last season. That’s 17.0 sacks fewer than the next fewest. Only ONE of their 13 sacks belongs to an edge rusher currently on the team (Arden Key). To the draft they go needing to probably make a desperation move in order to ensure they get one or more edge rushers. Luckily the class is deep, but that doesn’t mean they’re all surefire winners.2. Tight endWith Jared Cook in Oakland, the Raiders were set at the tight end spot. They could’ve drafted someone complement him as well as eventually replace him, but it was dire. But they didn’t re-sign Cook. He was allowed to leave and signed with the Saints. So, now they desperately need a replacement. Readers made this position the narrow favorite as the biggest need on offense. Can’t argue that. Jon Gruden has said Darren Waller will have a great opportunity, but that’s just talk. There’s no way they let this team go into next season hoping Waller is the answer. He showed some skill late last season, but not enough to putting the receiving tight end job squarely in his hands.3. LinebackerOutside of the obvious need at edge rusher, the readers deemed this the team’s largest need on defense. And I agree. They signed Vontaze Burfict who was cut by the Bengals and Brandon Marshall who was let go by the Broncos. Both were signed to 1-year deals. They don’t solve the need at the position, they merely put the team in a better position in terms of need in the draft. They are insurance in case they aren’t able to get the linebacker they wantor need to give that player time to develop.4. GuardTwo seasons removed from being named an All Pro, the Raiders deemed Kelechi Osemele no longer worth his contract and traded him to the Jets to move up from the 6th to the 5th round. They re-signed Denzelle Good, who played well in a couple games late last season, but that — like the linebacker additions — merely assures they have an insurance plan in place in case they can’t get the guy they want in the draft or that player needs time to develop.5. Running backThis is an interesting position need. None of the top backs joined the Raiders this offseason, leaving them without a starter for months. Then the Jets signed LeVeon Bell and let go of Isaiah Crowell and the Raiders scooped him up. Crowell is a proven starter, albeit perhaps not a proven workhorse. Though he signed a 1-year deal, he could be the guy if necessary. Also the team has left the door open for Marshawn Lynch to return, saying that it depends on what they do in the draft. Many mock drafts have them picking a running back in the first round. I’m of two minds about that. Not at the expense of greater needs and often times good backs can be found later.6. SafetyOn paper it looks like the Raiders have a greater need at cornerback than safety. In reality, that’s not the case. The reason for the confusion is the addition of Lamarcus Joyner and his role. Though listed as a safety Womens Antonio Brown Jersey , he will be primarily lining up at nickel corner covering the slot. That was a major need the Raiders had and the addition of Joyner fills it. They also added Nevin Lawson to the cornerback rotation. Where there is a need is at strong safety. Currently they have Karl Joseph and Erik Harris as the penciled in starters. Both showed well late last season but it’s Joseph who was a former top pick and therefore still carries a potentially high ceiling. Joyner (5-8) and Joseph (5-10) are both small stature guys so what they need is a larger, big hitting strong safety who can cover tight ends. Follow @LeviDamien On Friday, the Raiders took the highly unusual step of clearing the building of most scouts, telling them to stay home until after the draft. On Monday, the Raiders floated an excuse for sending employees home with pay.According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, the Raiders may be planning a”surprise” pick with the fourth overall selection, necessitating complete and total secrecy.That’s fine (actually, it’s won’t be fine if they opt for a “surprise” who becomes a bust), but a normally functioning football operation can achieve and maintain the necessary level of secrecy without sending people home. Most NFL front offices operate on a strictly need-to-know basis, with scouts who aren’t involved in setting the draft board knowing nothing about its contents. It’s a simple and easy application of the Patriots’ “do your job” mantra, where if it’s not critical to an employee’s job to know what the organization will do during the draft, the employee never knows that information.In New England, the area scouts who have no need to know the manner in which coach Bill Belichick ranks the players are (wait for it) instead working on other things that are central to their jobs, whether it’s gathering information about next year’s prospects or being available to answer specific questions or to handle specific projects relating to the work they’ve done for the current draft. The Raiders have consciously surrendered the benefit of these employees’ efforts, due to a vague and perhaps irrational fear that one of them will spill the beans about something that they shouldn’t even know in the first place.And here’s a fair question, given the manner in which a football operation should normally operate: Are the Raiders protecting coach Jon Gruden from himself? Specifically, is Gruden so impulsive and insecure that he can’t be trusted to refrain from bouncing his ideas about potential first-round picks off of scouts who in turn can’t be trusted to keep their own mouths shut?Trust. It’s amazing to think that the Raiders suddenly can’t trust scouts that they necessarily have trusted for months. Trusted to do good work. Trusted to be discreet regarding anything they hear regarding the team’s plans. Trusted to show full loyalty to the entity who pays their salaries.Either the Raiders suddenly decided that they can’t trust the scouts or they never trusted them in the first place, but did nothing about it until now. Neither explanation is satisfactory, and both make the Raiders look bad.Indeed, the Raiders are hardly the first football operation to have a secret that they didn’t want to be compromised. But they are the first (at least in recent years) to pay people to not show up for work due to fears that someone who doesn’t need to know the secret may find out about it, and may blab.It’s up to the leaders of the organization to ensure that people who aren’t trustworthy not be trusted with sensitive information. Which brings me back to the notion that the Raiders are essentially protecting Gruden from himself, by ensuring that Gruden doesn’t disclose the plans that Gruden and G.M. Mike Mayock are putting together for their three first-round picks, in an effort to feel more confident as Gruden embarks on a draft that will be critical to the manner in which his second stint with the Raiders ultimately goes.