This would be a total shocker. All offseason long, everybody had Michigan Wolverines defensive lineman Mason Graham as a bona-fide lock to go to the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 5 overall. He even wore a Jaguars t-shirt while working out not that long ago. So what is the reason for this change of heart? Well, the Jaguars are inherently chaotic, and they may end up taking a running back at No. 5...
That running back would be Boise State Broncos star Ashton Jeanty. If Jacksonville were to really make a mess of it, the Jaguars could use the No. 5 overall pick on Arizona Wildcats wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan. I love both prospects, but Jeanty is a bit of a reach at No. 5 and McMillan most certainly is. Even more so, the latest odds from DraftKings have Jeanty at even money to go top five.
That would leave the team long expected to take Jeanty in the Las Vegas Raiders in absolute shambles picking at No. 6. New head coach Pete Carroll is a defensive-minded one. He loves to play great defense and run the ball, unless he is one yard out with the Super Bowl on the line. Carroll also has an affinity for taking running backs out of the first round that started over in the Mountain West.
If Jacksonville does steal Jeanty out from under them, what are the Raiders to do in this situation?
Who can Las Vegas Raiders pick if Ashton Jeanty is already off the board?
I could be totally wrong in this, but there are five serious candidates for the Raiders to take at No. 6, as well as two potentially harebrained ones, mostly because they are the Raiders... If Jeanty goes No. 5 to Jacksonville, I would seriously consider taking Graham or McMillan at No. 6. Outside of that, I would look at trio of bookend tackles before consider going in one of two possibly too-out-there directions.
The trio of bookend tackles are Kelvin Banks Jr. out of Texas, Will Campbell out of LSU and Armand Membou from Missouri. I expect one of those three SEC to go No. 4 to the New England Patriots, although they could be a team that could conceivably take Jeanty inside the top five, too... The Raiders better choose wisely because the New York Jets will be on the clock right after than at No. 7.
Las Vegas cannot let the pressure coming from behind with Gang Green make them make a bad pick. Not to say that these would be bad picks, but missing out on Jeanty could cause the Raiders to reach on Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders or take an all-world tight end in Tyler Warren out of Penn State, even though they just drafted Brock Bowers out of Georgia only an offseason ago.
You see what not having a contingency plan does to a dysfunctional team like the Raiders, right? All things equal, I would take who the Jaguars should have taken at No. 5 in Graham at No. 6. He is a Michigan man, just like Raiders minority owner Tom Brady. That is great value for the Silver and Black. You might be getting the next Warren Sapp, who will love to embarrass the team who passed on him.
If Jeanty is already taken, I would go Graham first, Membou second and then McMillan a distant third.