The Raiders will meet with several prospective draftees leading up to the selection process itself, trying to gain a better grasp on players available.
Many of them come and go without much notice or consequence on the NFL draft.
On Wednesday, the Raiders hosted a player locals know well. University of Washington cornerback and Oakland native Marcus Peters came in for a visit, per a league source.
Peter is vocal and proud of his East Bay heritage. Peters went to McClymonds High in Oakland, where he was a star in football and track. He committed to Washington and turned pro after his junior year.
Peters enters the NFL draft projected as a mid-to-late first round pick. He’d be an excellent value pick to the Raiders if they trade down in the first round, or at No. 35 overall, should he slip some.
Peters’ game tape proves he’s a first-round talent. There are, however, character concerns that he can clear up in these pre-draft meetings. He’ll have a chance to convince Raiders brass the incidents that led to an in-season dismissal from the Huskies program are a thing of the past, that he could fit in with a high-character locker room and that he could thrive playing so close to home.
He got a chance to do the same with 49ers staff on Tuesday.
[RELATED: NFL Draft Profile: Washington CB Marcus Peters]
Peters also mended fences with Huskies coaches and participated in their April 2 Pro Day, where he had an excellent showing.
The young prospect has long had help from an established pro. Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, who grew up in the same Oakland neighborhood, has been a big brother to this young talent.
“That’s someone that has mentored me throughout my whole life,” Peters said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “I look up to him a lot.”
Peters says he’s focused on doing right from now on, and has great motivation to do so.
“What really has humbled me is me having a child, (his son Carson),” Peters said. “Me bringing a child into this world has really humbled me a whole lot because now I have to be able to provide for someone other than myself. I have someone that is looking up to me a lot, so I have to be 100 percent mature.”
