With the 2017 NFL Draft and Free Agency in the books, the Oakland Raiders have mostly solidified their roster going into mandatory training camp. While they have undoubtedly upgraded the team, the fact remains that the Raiders roster still has some critical areas of need that must to be addressed if the Raiders are to be in legitimate Super Bowl contention.

Thankfully, Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie has shown that he has an eye for discovering late round talent and the Raiders coaching staff has shown that they can develop it. It seems like every year, an UDFA or late round draft pick plays their way onto the roster and makes an impact.

In 2015, it was Seth Roberts and Denico Autry who emerged and became quality contributors for the Silver and Black. In 2016, it was Jalen Richard, DeAndre Washington, and Vadal Alexander who provided the Raiders with quality snaps and solid production.

With the Raiders especially thin at certain position groups, here are three Raiders players who I believe, in no particular order, have a good chance of making the 53-man roster and making an impact in 2017.

DE Fadol Brown

Originally projected as a late day three pick (5-6th round), medical concerns from a stress fracture in his foot resulted in Brown falling out of the draft altogether. In his senior season, his injury resulted in Brown only starting 4 out of 8 games but he nevertheless had his best year with 39 tackles, six tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks.

Brown was one of my favorite Raider signings due to his combination of size, length, explosiveness, and lateral quickness giving him a higher upside than most UDFA's. He plays with a good motor and displays an explosive initial burst off the snap.

Brown also exhibits excellent upper body strength with an ability to take on double teams. Where Brown shines is against the run where he has used his long arms to stack and shed his blockers with ease resulting in 40 percent of his tackles over last two years coming on gains of two yards or less.

Brown's pass rush, however, is where he struggled the most throughout his college career. While Brown had active hands, he often seemed at a loss and is unable to string together pass rush moves against offensive tackles. Furthermore, Brown lacks fundamental hip technique resulting in him playing too high and unable to effectively bend the edge.

Nevertheless, while watching his tape, I believe that his physical profile, two gap scheme skill set, and overall upside will impress the Coaches enough for him to garner a spot in our defensive line rotation.

ILB/WLB Cory James

When the Raiders selected Cory James out of Colorado State in the sixth round in 2016, my first reaction was confusion. Who is Cory James? This confusion quickly turned to anticipation after watching some of his college film tape and reading through some scouting reports.

James was a four-year college starter who demonstrated positional and role versatility throughout his tenure, something McKenzie covets in his linebackers. James has excellent speed and agility (his 3 cone time would have been the best in the NFL combine amongst linebackers) and is equally comfortable in zone or man coverage or as a backside run defender. He has also shown quality pass rushing ability from any linebacking position, as demonstrated by his career 24 sacks.

It's important to emphasize exactly how difficult it is for a player to be able to adequately play all three linebacker positions. There is a world of difference between playing as an inside linebacker, an outside linebacker, or a weakside linebacker and they each require different skill sets.

The fact that James was able to play all three positions is immensely valuable and allows for more flexibility and unpredictability by the Raiders defense.

While James has excellent instincts in sniffing out running lanes and tackling ball carriers, his limited experience as an inside and weakside linebacker resulted in him occasionally making the wrong read against the run or playing with improper leverage.

This inexperience and mental mistakes were a large part of why Del Rio replaced James with veteran inside linebacker Perry Riley Jr. who provided a steadying and disciplined presence at the heart of the Raiders defense.

James also lacks the size, functional strength, and hand usage necessary to set the edge against strongside runs and maintain leverage. That's why, in my opinion, I believe James's natural position is weakside linebacker because it allows him to use his coverage skills, instincts, athleticism, attacking mentality, and blitzing ability to make an impact. I believe that if James is allowed to play at his natural position, he will demonstrate considerable improvement from his hectic rookie season and have a positive impact on defense.

WR Jaydon Mickens

Jaydon Mickens is a classic example of a talented WR whose production was greatly limited by his QB and an unimaginative offensive scheme. Mickens was a dangerous receiver with the ball in his hands utilizing fantastic quick twitch athleticism and speed to run circles around his opposition and come down with the deep ball.

Despite his diminutive size, Mickens has demonstrated physicality and craftiness with his body using it to shield and secure catches which bodes for the future. Furthermore, while he is not fundamentally sound, Mickens is a feisty and willing blocker who plays to the whistle and is willing to throw around his body to create space for his teammates.

The word that came to mind for me when watching Mickens's game tape was wasted potential. Mickens quick twitch athleticism, speed, strong hands, and physicality all point toward a productive slot corner but his lack of route running prowess severely limited his potential impact last year.

However, Mickens took his relegation to the practice squad to heart and grinded all year waiting for his second opportunity. Reports indicated that Mickens was consistently the first to arrive at the Raiders practice facility and the last to leave, attacking his role on the practice squad with fervor and enthusiasm.

His hard work payed off as he has coaches and players raving about his improved route running and strong hands throughout OTA's and rookie minicamp. We also have several video's of Mickens putting Raiders CB's on skates as Mickens demonstrates his tremendously improved route running ability. While I am a huge fan and defender of Seth Roberts, I believe that Mickens has a legitimate shot at supplanting him as the Raiders slot receiver.