Every general manager puts on a happy face after the NFL Draft. Things went according to plan, and a lot of great players were added.tr6
Las Vegas Raiders GM Tom Telesco is no different, but he doesn’t seem overly concerned with selling the fan base on how his team nailed every pick. The bottom line is that the team got better, the roster got bigger and the Raiders accomplished what they talked about in meetings last week.
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“I wouldn’t say (we had) one big overriding goal, but I guess just trying to make sure we were drafting players that fit our identity,” Telesco said Saturday afternoon. “Obviously, there’s needs we’d like to fill, I’ve told you before the needs kind of change. But depth is a need too, and you’ve got to have depth across your team, so that’s a big part of it.”
The Raiders drafted tight end Brock Bowers in the first round, and Telesco said they tried hard to move up in Round 2 — the guess here is to get one of the cornerbacks that fell out of the first round — but teams weren’t cooperating. It will be interesting to see if they now jump back into free agency and sign a starter.
Counting the drafted and undrafted rookies — who’ve yet to sign NFL contracts — the Raiders have 87 players on their roster (international player David Agoha gets an exemption). Teams are allotted 90 offseason roster spots, so they have three spots remaining. Rookie minicamp will be on May 10. Here’s a projected depth chart for the Raiders going into OTAs next month, with rookies in italics:
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Las Vegas Raiders NFL Draft picks 2024: Grades, fits and scouting reports
Quarterback
Starter: Gardner Minshew
Aidan O’Connell, Anthony Brown Jr., Carter Bradley
Analysis: The Raiders tried to trade up into the top three in the draft but realized those teams really loved the top quarterbacks — Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye — themselves. Three more quarterbacks — Michael Penix Jr., J.J. McCarthy and Bo Nix — went off the board before they were on the clock at No. 13, but they weren’t interested in taking any of them that high, anyway. After that, Telesco said he had no interest in the other quarterbacks in the draft, who all had warts and are clearly well behind Minshew and O’Connell. Minshew got paid bridge starter money with a two-year, $25 million contract, but O’Connell will get the chance to beat him out in training camp. Think what you want about those gentlemen and their ceilings, but the Raiders made their jobs a little easier with the draft additions last weekend and we can at least hold off on talking about the quarterbacks in next year’s draft for a little while. (Bradley, by the way, is former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley’s son.)
Running back
Starter: Zamir White
Alexander Mattison, Ameer Abdullah, Dylan Laube, Brittain Brown, Sincere McCormick, Tyreik McAllister
Analysis: In Laube, the Raiders added a Danny Woodhead-type whose main job in Year 1 will be to boost the kick return, punt return, kick coverage and punt coverage teams. He was one of the most excited draft picks we’ve ever talked to right after being picked. But the big winner this offseason is White, who saw Josh Jacobs leave in free agency. The only veteran addition was Mattison, a decent backup type who squandered some chances to be the man with the Minnesota Vikings. Update your fantasy football draft board accordingly.
#RaiderNation I’m so fired up to prove you RIGHT and the 31 teams who passed on me wrong! Let’s work!! pic.twitter.com/ilqAN3PVld
— Dylan Laube (@dylan_laube) April 27, 2024
Receiver
Starters: Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker
DJ Turner, Kristian Wilkerson, Ramel Keyton, Lideatrick Griffin, Jeff Foreman
Analysis: It doesn’t say so with this list, but the Raiders boosted their receiving corps with the addition of Bowers, who can line up in the slot and outside. Adams was frustrated last season with Jimmy Garoppolo’s inability to get him the ball down the field, and that’s not necessarily a strength of Minshew’s. The depth here is not great — no offense to the three undrafted rookies who were signed Saturday night.
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Tight end
Starter: Brock Bowers
Michael Mayer, Harrison Bryant, Cole Fotheringham, Zach Gentry, John Samuel Shenker
Analysis: Bowers will likely play most of the snaps among the tight end group, but Mayer should still see the field often. The Raiders will lean heavily on 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends, two receivers) to frequently get their top two tight ends on the field. Bowers can line up as an inline tight end, slot receiver, outside receiver and H-back while Mayer can line up as an inline tight end, slot receiver and outside receiver. Their versatility will allow the Raiders to get creative to take advantage of matchups in the passing game. Neither player is known for his blocking, but that’s where Bryant can contribute.
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Offensive line
Starters: LT Kolton Miller, LG Dylan Parham, C Andre James, RG Jackson Powers-Johnson, RT Thayer Munford Jr.
G Cody Whitehair, OT DJ Glaze, G Jordan Meredith, G Ben Brown, OT Jalen McKenzie, OT Dalton Wagner, OT Andrew Coker, G Clark Barrington, G Jake Johanning, C Will Putnam
Analysis: After coming out of the draft with a starting-caliber guard in Powers-Johnson and a swing tackle in Glaze, the Raiders’ offensive line looks to be in decent shape. Parham could potentially move to right guard after spending two seasons as the starting left guard, but the interior O-line will be some combination of Parham, James and Powers-Johnson. Whitehair has starting experience at center and guard and provides useful depth. Glaze has an outside shot of pushing Munford for the starting right tackle job, but it feels more likely that he will settle in as a backup who can play left tackle and right tackle in case of injury.
Edge rushers
Starters: Maxx Crosby, Malcolm Koonce
Tyree Wilson, Janarius Robinson, Elerson Smith, Charles Snowden, David Agoha, Ron Stone Jr., Amari Gainer, TJ Franklin
Analysis: Crosby and Koonce grew into one of the best pass-rushing duos in the league by the end of last season. While there’s hope Wilson will improve after a disappointing rookie season, he’ll likely remain a rotational player who can line up both at defensive end and defensive tackle. Beyond Wilson, this group is pretty thin. Perhaps the Raiders could look to add a veteran if none of the undrafted rookies step up.
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Interior defensive line
Starters: Christian Wilkins, John Jenkins
Adam Butler, Matthew Butler, Nesta Jade Silvera, Byron Young, Noah Shannon, Tomari Fox
Analysis: This is a pretty strong group, especially with the addition of Wilkins, who will demand double-teams on occasion, and the return of Jenkins and Adam Butler, who played well last season. And don’t forget that Tyree Wilson will move inside on passing downs. It’s going to be tough for Young, a third-round pick a year ago, to get on the field, which speaks volumes.
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'Sick, twisted' Christian Wilkins will fit in just fine with the Raiders
Linebacker
Starters: Robert Spillane, Divine Deablo
Luke Masterson, Tommy Eichenberg, Amari Burney, Darien Butler, Kana’i Mauga
Analysis: The Raiders are predominantly a nickel team — they were in nickel on an NFL-high 81.9 percent of their snaps last season, according to TruMedia — which means they only have two linebackers on the field most of the time. Spillane and Deablo form a strong starting duo. Masterson worked as the third linebacker last season, but he’ll have to fend off Eichenberg for that role. Eichenberg was so-so in coverage, but he was a prolific run stopper as a middle linebacker at Ohio State and could push Masterson for his job right away.
Cornerback
Starters: Jack Jones, Jakorian Bennett, Nate Hobbs
Brandon Facyson, Decamerion Richardson, Sam Webb, M.J. Devonshire, Cornell Armstrong, Ja’Quan Sheppard, Rayshad Williams, Demarcus Governor
Analysis: As it stands, it’ll be a three-way competition between Bennett, Facyson and Richardson for the starting job at outside cornerback opposite Jones. Bennett was a Week 1 starter last season as a rookie, but he struggled, got hurt and then settled into a bench role. Facyson has been a part-time starter in the past, but he missed most of last season due to injury. Richardson has some tantalizing physical traits, but he’s raw. With so many question marks among the trio, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Raiders pursued a more proven veteran cornerback in free agency.
Safety
Starters: Tre’von Moehrig, Marcus Epps
Isaiah Pola-Mao, Chris Smith II, Trey Taylor, Jaydon Grant, Tyreque Jones, Phalen Sanford
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Analysis: The Raiders are pretty happy with Moehrig — who made a big jump last season — and Epps, and feel that Pola-Mao has some upside. It’s interesting that the Jim Thorpe Award winner, which is given to the best defensive back in college, lasted until the seventh round, but Taylor’s pass coverage skills don’t match his run-game support.
Special teams
Kicker: Daniel Carlson
Punter: AJ Cole
Long snapper: Jacob Bobenmoyer
Kick returner: Laube
Punt returner: Laube
Analysis: The kicking battery composed of Carlson, Cole and Bobenmoyer is back for the third straight season. It’ll be interesting to see if the Raiders experiment with the types of players they use as kick returners in response to the NFL’s revamped kickoff rules. If Laube makes the roster, he could handle both kick return and punt return duties. During his six-year career at New Hampshire, he took 34 punt returns for 426 yards and two touchdowns and 90 kickoff returns for 2,207 yards and two touchdowns.
(Top photo of Brock Bowers: Candice Ward / USA Today)