Mike Mayock is like a skinny Santa Claus but instead of presents, he’s giving Raider Nation superb draft picks. Say what you want about Clelin Ferrell in the first, overall the 2019 draft was the most impactful draft the Raiders have had in 10+ years (seriously). And with plenty of offseason additions to key defensive positions like LB (Cory Littleton, Nick Kwiatkoski), CB (Eli Apple), DT (Maliek Collins) and DE (Carl Nassib), I think the Raiders can splurge on offense in this year’s draft.
So, how about we take a trip down the yellow brick road and see what the 2020 NFL Draft can look like for Raider Nation:
* To start, I used WalterFootball.com’s latest mock draft to get a basis for which players would be available for each of the Raider’s specific picks.
1st Round (12th pick) – CeeDee Lamb (WR, OKLA)
The mock draft I used for reference had the Raiders selecting Jerry Jeudy here with Lamb going 13th to the 49ers. But for me no like that. First off, CeeDee Lamb showed the athleticism that I haven’t seen in YEARS. He had multiple plays for the Sooners in which you sat there scratching your head like how did he do that? No disrespect to Jeudy but his performance was more dependent on Tua being insanely accurate and dominant. You can’t say the same for Lamb as he had to rely on the arm of Jalen Hurts who is not being touted as a 1st round QB by no surprise. Another factor for me is that both players are essentially the same size (6’2” Lamb, 6’1” Jeudy) and essentially have the same NFL Prospect rating (6.81 Lamb, 6.80 Jeudy). Yes, Jeudy may have more speed, but then again remember when the Raiders drafted Darrius Heyward-Bey for that same reason? No, I’m not comparing those two players, but I am saying I would rather pick the athletic receiver and hope he gets faster than draft the faster receiver and hope he gets more athletic. Not a crazy swap here but I prefer Lamb to Jeudy based on their performances in 2019 based on who they had throwing them the ball.
1st Round (19th pick) (From Bears) – Chase Claypool (WR, ND)
Here is the pick I’ll probably receive the most hate on so let me explain why I’m going with Claypool so early. First off, a lot of mock’s have Oakland going Kenneth Murray here, but I don’t like that at all since we just signed two starting linebackers for around $56 million total. Instead, I want Oakland to go all-in on the offense with another extremely talented WR in Claypool. And if you want to tell me he is a tight end then explain the 4.42 40-yard dash along with the 40.5” vertical and yes I’ll wait. Claypool is another WR who posted amazing stats (66 rec, 1,037 yds, 13 TDs) even with a somewhat lackluster QB in Ian Book. Book isn’t bad but he is not close to Tua or Joe and that’s what I mean. But besides that, Claypool brings SIZE in his 6’4”, 229 lb frame and this is what Oakland needs desperately at the WR position. Sure we have Tyrell Williams but he didn’t pan out last year and he is not and has never been a #1 WR. I know this pick might seem crazy, but please just consider this offense:
Josh Jacobs (RB), CeeDee Lamb (WR), Chase Claypool (WR), Hunter Renfroe/Tyrell Williams (WRs), Darren Waller/Jason Witten (TEs).
Derek Carr got paid $100 million, let’s give him some damn weapons, please!
3rd Round (80th pick) – Kristian Fulton (CB, LSU)
I’m not insane okay, I know that Oakland has an issue at the CB position with the loss of Daryl Worley and I think the CB from LSU is just what we need to fill that void. 15 starts in 2019 with stats of 38 tackles, 1 int and 14 pass breakups is solid especially for a guy in the SEC. Throw in a 6.29 prospect grade (nfl.com) and a 44.9% completion allowed percent (top-20 fbs) and you have a guy who has the potential to be a starting CB in the NFL. My only issue here is that he has been getting hyped up and could be gone by the time the 80th pick rolls around.
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3rd Round (81st pick) (From Bears) – Bryce Hall (CB, UVA)
Thanks for the picks Chicago, I hope you enjoy that overpaid defensive end who had fewer sacks (8.5) than our rookie (10.0) 4th round pick! But real talk, I want Oakland focusing on corner once more based on the fact that our defense is solid at every position besides Corner and SS (we’ll get to that later). So why not spend the 81st pick on a guy like Bryce Hall who is likely going to fall in the 2020 draft based on his subpar 2019 season for UVA? A lot of people are worried because of Hall’s lack of press coverage along with him breaking his ankle in 2019 but I’m not worried. First off the press coverage rating can easily be attributed to the scheme he was under at UVA. Second off, a broken ankle is by no means a career-ending injury and should be looked at as an opportunity and not a negative attribute. Third off, did everyone forget that Hall led the entire FBS in 2018 with 22 pass breakups? Not sure, but that 6.32 prospect grade over on NFL.com sure looks sexy to me. Combine Hall with Fulton and the Raiders can bolster their corners immensely in the 2020 draft.
3rd Round (91st pick) (from Seahawks through Texans) – Anfernee Jennings (LB, ALA)
I know I’ve been mentioning the Raiders shouldn’t be adding a linebacker but what I meant was we shouldn’t be wasting an early-round pick on one. I think our 3rd, 3rd round pick is the perfect opportunity to swoop up a guy like Jennings who seems to have slipped down the board a bit. I understand the concerns as Jennings is sitting at 6’2”, 256 lbs which signals a guy who probably isn’t great in coverage. But that is why we signed Littleton from the Rams. So Jennings in my humble opinion can fill in as the Strongside LB as he excels at stopping the run with his larger size. And he played at Alabama so we KNOW this guy is prepared for the NFL. To wrap things up he is being given a 6.27 prospect grade from nfl.com and he recorded 8 sacks in 2019 for Bama, love this pick to give Oakland a 4th guy in the rotation who can make an impact immediately.
4th Round (121st pick) – J.R. Reed (S, UGA)
Here we go, time to address the SS position and I think J.R. Reed is the perfect complement to the insanity that Johnathan Abram brings to the table. It’s easy to forget Abram was even on the team as he was hurt basically the entire year last season. But if you watched his first game then you know he is extremely athletic and makes a lot of plays based on instinct. To compliment that we need someone with a great football mind and J.R. Reed is exactly that. And if you don’t believe me then believe NFL.com because they said this
“Productive, football-savvy prospect with unremarkable traits and explosiveness, but an elevated football IQ to make up for it.”
What that means is he knows the game like no other but he isn’t exactly the most athletically gifted. Which is why him being SS and Abram at FS makes perfect sense. But that’s not even what I like the most about Reed. My favorite thing about him is his story and how he got here. He was not heavily recruited out of high school and ended up going to Tulsa of all places. But he worked his ass off and ended up sitting out a year and eventually ended up at Georgia as a starter. The best part? He stayed for his senior year and finished as a Jim Thorpe Award Finalist. Sometimes you need guys like Reed who might not be extremely athletic but make up for it with work ethic and knowledge.
5th Round (159th pick) – Trey Adams (OT, WASH)
If he falls this far then he could be an absolute monster of a pick in the 5th round. And with the injury history of a torn ACL (2017) and a bulging disk in his back (2018), I think he could. Initially into his career he was touted as a 1st round pick because of his size (6’8”, 318 lbs) but as I mentioned the injuries forced that 1st round potential to fall by the wayside. Don’t worry though, there is good news here as Adams was able to return for his entire 2019 season and started every game for Washington. This resulted in him being selected 1st team all Pac-12 and for me, that shows the potential is still there. A late-round dart throw could be beneficial as the Raiders should be looking for a replacement for Trent Brown as he is basically the only weak link left on this stellar line. Draft Adams in the 5th if he is still around and let him compete for the starting RT spot with Brown, that’s a recipe for success in my book.
And that is it, folks! My entire 2020 mock draft for the Las Vegas Raiders is in the books. Now go kiss your Mike Mayock/Jon Gruden posters and pray for the best.
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