Oakland Raiders Offensive Line Shuffles:

Looks like the Raiders have a new center -- Samson Satele. The trade sends Satele to Oakland, a sixth-round pick to Miami, and the Raiders and Dolphins will swap picks in an as-yet undisclosed round.

This, just a few weeks after Oakland center Jake Grove signed a fat contract with . . . the Dolphins. Go figure.

It's an interesting trade, for a couple of reasons. First, the recent draft buzz -- to which I was close to falling victim -- was that the Raiders were leaning heavily toward Alex Mack, Cal's standout center. This trade would apparently take that off the board, unless the Raiders want to load up at C (essentially taking one in the first and one in the sixth) and let competition sort it out. Satele, it should be noted, has also played guard and tackle, and could conceivably be moved to RG if the Raiders WERE to take Mack (which would bring the total of upgraded line spots to 3 were that the case). The knock on Satele is that he's a bit soft against the NT-heavy 3-4, which makes him a liability in the AFC East. The problem is that I wonder whether he'll be able to shed that reputation against two nasty NTs in the West -- Jamaal Williams and Glenn Dorsey, one of whom Satele can reasonably expect to see once every four games. With the Broncos transitioning to a 3-4, if they nail down a top-notch NT, via FA, trade or the draft (what if Raji drops to 12?), that gives Satele six games against NTs -- power rushers of the type with which he has problems. It's certainly an upgrade from not having anyone there, and I'm willing to bet it's an upgrade over the departed Grove -- but I wonder whether it makes sense to trade for Satele with Mack a distinct possibility at 7 (or lower, should a trade down work out).

In other, positionally related news, hopefully no-longer-starting right tackle Cornell Green has been charged with domestic violence.

It's a no-nonsense league now, and even the Raiders shouldn't consider themselves exempt -- it's time to shed Green like unwanted holiday pounds. At best, he's a backup, and a fairly mediocre backup at that; the fact that he's been the starting tackle for the best part of two seasons is a glaring sign of the overall paucity of line talent in Oakland.

Now, however, the Raiders have three adequate-to-good tackles, each of whom is a full step ahead of Green: Mario Henderson, Khalif Barnes, and Erik Pears. Pencil in two to start and one to backup, and they're still thin at the position. With C seemingly off the board @ 7, the Raiders could pull the trigger on Crabtree or Maclin (and given an imperative to choose between the two, please let it be the former), or could do the other smart thing and hit defense @ 7 (Orapko would be a great pick there). If by some miracle Jason Smith or Eugene Monroe drop to 7, that should be a no-brainer, as should passing over Andre Smith when he's still on the board @ 7.

The reason this comes up is that, barring a trade, the Raiders could be looking at tackles again @ 40 -- and there are two that should still be on the board that look like they could be both decent players with some coaching and a good fit for Cable's ZBS: Connecticut's William Beatty and South Carolina's Jamon Meredith (again listed in order of preference).

Great teams are built from the inside out, and while the Raiders have a plethora of holes and only a few legitimate chances to fill them at any one time, the lines have to be the first priority. Raji @ 7 and Beatty @ 40, with a WR in the 3rd? I've heard worse ideas (in the interest of full disclosure, I'm not entirely thrilled with Raji -- but the idea of Raji as NT and Kelly as UT in the Raiders' 4-3 does speak of possibilities at both the first and second levels, thereby alleviating pressure on the secondary in the suddenly pass-happy West).

Granted, I'm still in favor of either Monroe or a trade -- ideally with Philly -- but Raji, Beatty and, oh, say, Derrick Williams/Johnny Knox/Juaquin Iglesias @ 71? (Though I suspect that the Raiders may be picking at 87, rather than 71). Can't leave Michael Oher out of the conversation entirely -- he may well be there for the taking @ 7, which would turn the conversation to Derrius Hayward-Bey or Hakeem Nicks @ 40.

Good times ahead in late April.