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Oakland Raiders full 2019 NFL mock draft

By Conor Dorney

Mandatory Credit: Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Mandatory Credit: Michael Reaves/Getty Images /
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5th round

CHESTNUT HILL, MA – SEPTEMBER 29: Boston College tight end Tommy Sweeney (89) hauls in a pass for a touchdown during a game between the Boston College Eagles and the Temple University Owls on September 29, 2018, at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The Eagles defeated the Owls 45-35. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHESTNUT HILL, MA – SEPTEMBER 29: Boston College tight end Tommy Sweeney (89) hauls in a pass for a touchdown during a game between the Boston College Eagles and the Temple University Owls on September 29, 2018, at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The Eagles defeated the Owls 45-35. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

As the Raiders continue to build their new look-offense, the tight end position could also get an overhaul and Boston College’s Tommy Sweeney (from the alma mater of GM Mike Mayock) could be a solid target for the team on Day 3.

Sweeney doesn’t have the elite athletic traits of players like Noah Fant or T.J. Hockenson, but presents enough ability to handle duties as a combo tight end at the NFL level.

At 6-foot-4, 251 pounds, Sweeney has the toughness and technique to handle in-line duties as a blocker and enough speed and ball skills to handle being an underneath target in an NFL offense. He may never be more than a TE2 but is just the type of player that Gruden and Mayock would love to have on their roster for depth at the position.

6th round – No selections

7th round

MOBILE, AL – JANUARY 26: Defensive tackle Khalen Saunders #99 of Western Illinios of the North Team during the 2019 Resse’s Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on January 26, 2019 in Mobile, Alabama. The North defeated the South 34 to 24. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
MOBILE, AL – JANUARY 26: Defensive tackle Khalen Saunders #99 of Western Illinios of the North Team during the 2019 Resse’s Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on January 26, 2019 in Mobile, Alabama. The North defeated the South 34 to 24. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /

Not many people have the ability to do a backflip and when you look at people over 300 pounds with the ability to do a backflip, the list is even shorter. But who is one person on that very list? Western Illinois’ Khalen Saunders.

Saunders, a 6-foot-0, 324 pound defensive tackle had one of the most eventful weeks at the Senior Bowl (which included playing at the Senior Bowl while his fiancee gave birth) and would be an excellent late-round target for the Raiders to add to their interior pass rush.

The Raiders’ coaching staff saw firsthand how Saunders handled the aforementioned adversity during his week of practice and Mobile, and his play on the field made enough of an impression among scouts that he could be high on their board on Day 3.

Expect the Raiders to add plenty of players on the defensive side of the ball in the later rounds as they continue to build organizational depth, including at the linebacker position.

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Duke’s Joe Giles-Harris is more production than elite athletic traits but that production could warrant him as late-round selection to compete for playing time at inside linebacker next season. Giles-Harris posted three consecutive seasons of 80+ tackles for the Blue Devils and was a team captain during his redshirt-junior season in 2018.

The Raiders have checked in on Duke several times throughout the draft process and could very well be the type of player Gruden would love to add to his defense.

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