With the 168th pick in the 2012 NFL draft, the Oakland Raiders take Juron Criner, wide receiver out of Arizona. While the Raiders spent the first two rounds of the draft pretty much sitting on their hands, things are starting to heat up for the Raider Nation as the Raiders have just made their third of five picks on day three of the NFL draft, this time addressing a lesser need at wide receiver with Juron Criner. This was likely a value pick since Criner is a guy who easily could have been gone at this point. With the Raiders having addressed some defensive needs and having picked up another late round pick, they were able to take a guy like Criner, who does not fill a big time need, but is a great value at this point in the draft.
The Raiders have a ton of young wide receivers, but they are all in the same kind of mold, smaller speedsters who can stretch the field. With Criner, the Raiders address a need by finding a big bodied receiver who can be more of a possession guy. Criner, yet again, is another player who can conceivably develop into a starting caliber player in the NFL. Meanwhile, he will likely be a nice third down receiver who can take advantage of his size to make key plays.
Raiders 2012 NFL Draft Haul
No. 95 (Third Round): OL Tony Bergstrom, Utah
No. 129 (Fourth Round): OLB Mile Burris,
No. 158 (Fifth Round): DE Jack Crawford Penn State
No. 168 (Fifth Round): WR Juron Criner, Arizona
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