Round 7:
Pick 247: Jonathan Dowling, S, Western Kentucky
COMMENT: So the Raiders started the draft with defense and they ended the draft with defense. Much needed depth at the safety position aside from Woodson, Young, Branch, and Ross. Dowling was the highest rated safety, but had some trouble back in Florida especially with coach Urban Meyer, then after when he transferred to Western Kentucky, he started putting up solid numbers according to his scouting profile. He was slated to be a 4-5 rounder, so this is one heck of a value pick for the Raiders to end their draft. Stay tuned for my full evaluation, I'll provide the same pictures, highlights, repeat a little what I said in the comments, and give my own personal grade.
Pick 235: Shelby Harris, DE, Illinois State
COMMENT: More depth at the defensive line and another draft pick where Reggie is taking a chance on a player who has work ethic and off the field issues according to scouting profile. Shelby Harris is a strong tackler though, decent run defender, he can learn a lot from Justin Tuck and Antonio Smith to get after the quarterback because that's also one of his weaknesses.
Pick 219: Travis Carrie, CB, Ohio
COMMENT: Once again more depth at the cornerback position. I was hoping at this point we would get a valued safety to back up C-Wood, but our late 4th round pick in McGill shows that not only he can play CB, but can play nickel safety. Looking at Travis Carrie's scouting report, he is another big size type corner, he's quick, can mirror his receiver's route running well in coverage, I take it he's a ball hawk. Raiders are mixing youth and experience in the CB position well. Along with Hayden, drafting McGill, and now Carrie, not too bad of a young CB nucleus.
Round 4:
Pick 116: Keith McGill, CB, Utah
COMMENT: We get this extra fourth round draft pick from the trade with Miami. Did I just hear that he's like a Brandon Browner type player? No doubt McGill is one of the tall cornerbacks available this draft. From his scouting report, he has long arms, large hands, yup definitely a Browner-type player. One of the red flags here for this pick is that he has off the field issues. Think back when the Raiders drafted McGee last year in the later rounds, there were red flags on him for his off the field issues that's why he fell late. McGill was projected to be a 2-3 rounder and he fell off the board. I have faith with the Raiders personnel and a team filled with high character, McGill will stay out of trouble and he's good for depth purposes because the Raiders needed depth at the secondary. Pretty funny the last two late rounders we drafted with off the field issues had last names started with "McG."
Pick 107: Justin Ellis, DT, Louisiana Tech
COMMENT: Round 4-7 usually go by fast so I'm going to make these comments short and simple. Raiders needed at defensive tackle since Pat Sims and Stacy McGee are the only top DTs on the depth chart. From what I heard in Ellis' scouting profile, he's explosive off the ball, he can clamp down the pocket in the interior very well, just needs to improve his matchups against double teams in the line of scrimmage.
Round 3:
Pick 81: Gabe Jackson, G, Mississippi State
COMMENT: Raiders traded down with Miami for this draft pick. I will trust Mike Mayock with this one since he is the draft guru. According to Mayock, Gabe Jackson is a solid pick, he's physical, more suitable to the gap scheme than the zone scheme. We just beefed up our offensive linemen even more. If we were going to go offensive line, I was hoping we would get a tackle late, but overall still a solid pick for depth purposes. Since the Raiders want to be a run first team with the tandem of MJD and Run DMC, the Raiders need a lot of beef on that O-line and selecting Jackson is just what the doctor ordered to address some offensive line needs.
Round 2:
Pick 36: Derek Carr, QB, Fresno State
COMMENT: We got our quarterback of the future. I like the way how Reggie is staying poise in the war room knowing the best players he want will come to him. For Carr, I've seen him live in the bowl game against USC. He didn't play well, but don't judge him based on one game and just with little tape I've seen of him, he is a pure pocket passer and fits right in the vertical passing game. Give him like 1-2 years to learn under Matt Schaub and he'll be our quarterback of the future. Again, Carr was the best quarterback available on the board for the Raiders and the Raiders are in a win-win situation in back to back rounds, not going to a quarterback early, getting a need in Mack and waiting patiently to cash in to get their franchise QB in the 2nd round in Carr. Reggie is hitting it big so far, he has to keep taking that big swing in rounds 3 & 4.
Round 1:
Pick 5: Khalil Mack, OLB, Buffalo
COMMENT: HELL TO THE YES! Clowney and Watkins were gone early on the board to the Texans and the Bills. I've seen highlights of Mack and he is a flat out beast! We didn't need to take quarterback early with the 5th pick, we need somebody who can help us now and Mack is that ideal impact player that can help the Raiders now, especially when they're in a division with Manning, Rivers, and Smith, we needed somebody who can get after the quarterback. Now with Mack in the roster, the linebacker is congested with Woodley, Burnett Bros, Burris, Roach, and Moore, all decent players, considering with our signings and now selecting Mack, the Raiders could be well on the way to become the 3-4 defense that Jason Tarver was hired to coach with. Mack and Tuck's face masks are gonna be sick, make that defense intimidating.
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