The Las Vegas Raiders have positioned followers on edge throughout NFL Draft weekend quite a few occasions. Silver and black followers cling to the hope their crew would not make a draft blunder.
Excellent news for Raiders nation: Vegas earned excessive grades for the primary Pete Carroll draft. Chad Reuter of the NFL Community handed them an A grade. The Ashton Jeanty choice rose as the right transfer.
The AFC West franchise lured in 11 complete picks. Not everybody earns the house run label, although.
Carroll’s Raiders draft debut nonetheless comes with head scratchers. Listed here are three of the most important errors made throughout their draft weekend.
Quarterback ought to’ve been addressed early by Raiders
Sure, that features contemplating Shedeur Sanders at both No. 68 and even No. 135. However Jalen Milroe was free for the taking too earlier than going No. 92 to the Seattle Seahawks.
Vegas settled for the sixth spherical to nab a QB. After each Sanders and Milroe acquired off the board. And it is Soccer Championship Subdivision star Cam Miller coming over.
Miller delivered immense dual-threat manufacturing at North Dakota State. He even acquired Sanders and the Buffaloes on their heels within the 2024 season opener — combining for 3 touchdowns within the close to upset. Miller, nevertheless, is missing splendid anticipation on his throws and even regarded too hesitant to hit open targets.
New offensive coordinator Chip Kelly seemingly banged the desk for this choose. He is acquired a deep historical past of utilizing working QBs. But when the Raiders actually wished to be aggressive, Milroe ought to’ve been the choice as excessive as 68th total. The Alabama star earned rave evaluations for his mobility — even garnering Lamar Jackson comparisons. A Milroe/Jeanty collaboration would’ve sounded surgical for this offense.
Dont’e Thornton Jr. choice not totally welcomed
The Tennessee WR comes with boom-or-bust potential.
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Some draft specialists and followers noticed this as an Al Davis transfer. And never at all times in a very good tone with that sentiment. The late proprietor fell right into a behavior of fawning over velocity — solely to witness these gamers flop as a consequence of catching inconsistency.
Thornton dealt along with his personal circumstances of the drops. Nonetheless, he is a tall lengthy strider at 6-foot-5 with a 4.3 time within the 40-yard sprint. He averaged an astonishing 21.9 yards per catch for the Volunteers. He can modify his physique and catch the contested passes too contained in the pink zone.
However the Raiders get the latter factor with fellow rookie Jack Bech already. Brock Bowers is one other pink zone possibility. An inside slot WR like Jaylin Lane of Virginia Tech would’ve made extra sense.
Lane lacks the towering body of Thornton. However drops weren’t labeled as a weak point in his draft analysis by Zierlein. Lane additionally brings his personal 4.3 velocity to the sphere. However he is an electrical display screen and hitch risk, which might’ve given the Raiders a wanted YAC (yards after catch) possibility.
Linebacker not addressed instantly
Off to the defensive aspect now. The Raiders neatly added muscle contained in the trenches via Southeastern Convention stars Tonka Hemingway (South Carolina) and JJ Pegues (Ole Miss).
However Robert Spillane rose as a giant free agent loss at linebacker. The Raiders might’ve gone after a close to comparable LB particularly in protection.
Chris Paul Jr. acquired handed over, till he fell to the Los Angeles Rams within the fifth. Paul nonetheless got here with fourth spherical worth. Carroll and firm might’ve nabbed him within the fourth.
Paul brings a twitchiness and cerebral aspect that Carroll thrived with earlier than — a la Bobby Wagner. Cody Lindenberg of Minnesota ended up filling the LB void, as a seventh rounder. Paul would’ve been a quicker LB possibility, although.