Raiders waste draft picks from Khalil Mack, Amari Cooper trades

The Oakland Raiders made three selections in the first round of the NFL Draft. None of them are considered a rock-solid win.

The Oakland Raiders came into the NFL Draft with arguably the most power in the NFL. They had three first-round picks after trading away two superstars. They came in with pick number 4, 24 and 27. That fourth pick was going to be the player to set up their defensive line for a decade. Well, maybe that was the thought?

The Raiders chose Clelin Ferrell with their first pick. Does he sound familiar? Well, maybe if Raiders fans were hoping he’d be there still at the 24th pick, but nobody, no analyst, no blogger, no Clemson superfan, had Ferrell going number four to the Raiders. He’s a very good talent, but you don’t take a player that could have fallen to the second round with the fourth-overall pick.

Let’s try to move past that pick, as hard as it is.

With their second pick of the round, 24th overall, they took a running back. Granted, he’s a good running back who played for Alabama so he doesn’t have a ton of wear and tear, but this is a different NFL. Josh Jacobs can only make so much of a contribution. We learned that last year with Saquon Barkley. He’s the best running back in recent memory, yet the Giants could barely win any games.

Jacobs might be a decent running back in this league, but again this is just the wrong position. He’s at least the right kind of running back, one who can block and catch the ball, but seems like the Raiders could have gotten this kind of player in the second round. We can call this pick better than a loss, but strange nonetheless.

Then, in a world where the Raiders have to face Patrick Mahomes twice a year from now until eternity, they took a box safety. Abram is a fine player, and he did well against the pass in SEC competition, but this doesn’t feel like the right fit. There were cornerbacks on the board that the Raiders could have selected in this pick, and with teams passing on the position, they could have gotten a really good player.

So, the Raiders turned a really bad season going 4-12, a superstar defensive edge rusher in Khalil Mack, and an amazingly talented wide receiver in Amari Cooper, into a defensive tackle rated much lower than you took them, a running back, and a box safety that needs to show he can excel on the next level. This doesn’t feel like the franchise changing NFL Draft we were expecting. We thought the Raiders would set up their move to Vegas tonight, but it seems like there’s a lot of spots to fill.