NFL Draft 2019: 5 worst picks of the first round

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: Daniel Jones of Duke poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being chosen #6 overall by the New York Giants during the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft on April 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: Daniel Jones of Duke poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being chosen #6 overall by the New York Giants during the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft on April 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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ARLINGTON, TX – DECEMBER 29: Clemson Tigers defensive end Clelin Ferrell (#99) warms up during the Goodyear Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff Semifinal game between the Clemson Tigers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish on December 29, 2018 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX – DECEMBER 29: Clemson Tigers defensive end Clelin Ferrell (#99) warms up during the Goodyear Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff Semifinal game between the Clemson Tigers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish on December 29, 2018 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

2. Clelin Ferrell to the Raiders at No. 4

Ferrell isn’t a bad football player. He’s going to arrive in Oakland and immediately become Jon Gruden’s best pass rusher. His lack of upside makes him a really bad choice to make so high in the first round.

Again, this doesn’t mean Ferrell is going to be a bad NFL player. It’s very likely that he’ll be a solid starter for the Raiders during his rookie season. It’s not impossible to project him as an above average player in the league for the next decade.

Ferrell just doesn’t have the elite athletic traits you want to see in a potential difference maker off the edge. That, more than anything else, is what the Raiders needed to come away with from this draft. Taking Ferrell when guys like Josh Allen and Ed Oliver were still on the board is a huge mistake by the brain trust of Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock.

If the Raiders were always set on taking Ferrell, they should have engineered a move down in Round 1 to accumulate more draft capital. Most people thought the former Clemson star was going to comfortably fall out of the Top 10. The Raiders made a huge miscalculation by taking him all the way up at No. 4.