Marshawn Lynch visited the Oakland Raiders on April 5 to talk about coming out of retirement to play for his hometown Raiders. However, the Seattle Seahawks still own the rights to Lynch and things have grown quiet about the move with the 2017 NFL Draft only a week away. According to Oakland General Manager Reggie McKenzie, Marshawn will play no role in the Raiders board during the upcoming draft.

The Oakland Raiders need at running back

Whether the Oakland Raiders sign Marshawn Lynch or not, they need a running back heading into the 2017 NFL season.

The fact is that they have only two running backs on their roster right now in DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard. Last year's starting running back Latavius Murray left via free agency to join the Minnesota Vikings. While Adrian Peterson is still out there as a free agent, and new Raiders receiver Cordarrelle Patterson has said he would love to see Peterson join Oakland for 2017, the biggest name rumored has been Marshawn Lynch.

In 2016, Murray led the Raiders with 788 yards and 12 touchdowns. Losing the yards is not that big of a deal but those 12 touchdowns will be missed. The two holdovers combined for 958 rushing yards but only combined for three total touchdowns on the ground. The Oakland Raiders need someone who can score touchdowns.

Over his NFL career, Marshawn Lynch ran for 9,112 yards and 74 touchdowns. From 2011 to 2014, Lynch averaged 12 touchdowns a season.

Oakland Raiders 2017 NFL Draft

According to Oakland Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie, players missing like suspended linebacker Aldon Smith or players they have not signed like Marshawn Lynch will have no bearing on what they do in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Even if Lynch signs with the Raiders, he will only be there for one or two years before retiring again because there is almost no chance he will leave with the team when they become the Las Vegas Raiders.

The only reason Marshawn Lynch wanted to sign to play with the Raiders is because he was raised in Oakland and it is his hometown team.

That means that the Raiders still could draft a running back in the NFL Draft this year to have one in place for the future of the franchise. Signing Marshawn now does nothing for the future of the team and is only a short term positive. Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio said that he believes Lynch wants to play for Oakland and McKenzie said that he wants to know if Marshawn is joining the team before the NFL Draft but they feel good about what they have as well.