Oakland Raiders: 7-Round Mock Draft
By Ryan Ratty
Round 4: ILB Stephone Anthony
As I said in the last slide, Ken Norton Jr is one of the up-and-coming defensive coordinators in the league. Since 2010, Norton Jr has been the linebackers coach for Pete Carroll’s Seattle Seahawks’ team. In that span, Norton Jr has coached players like Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright, and Malcolm Smith. One received an MVP vote this year, one is a top weakside linebacker in the league, and the other was a Super Bowl MVP. That being said, it’s safe to say that Norton Jr gets the most out of his linebackers.
In Oakland, Norton Jr is coming to a team with really only one linebacker with potential. Sio Moore has struggled in his two professional seasons. However, Moore is extremely athletic and he shows the ability to perform against the run and the pass. Besides Moore, however, the Raiders lack talent. Miles Burris is not an NFL-level linebacker and the Raiders need to improve there. That being said, a guy who makes a ton of sense in the middle rounds is Stephone Anthony. With Norton Jr coaching him up, Anthony could turn into a stud.
Next: Round 5: DT Xavier Williams