"I've been waiting for you Obi-Wan. We meet again at last. The circle is now complete." Sorry, I had to throw out a Star Wars reference out there because of the first name. Anyway, outside of Karl Joseph and Reggie Nelson, the Raiders don't have much help at the Safety position and they need to consider a long term replacement for Nelson. They might've found that with this selection. When I think of this pick, I immediately think Kam Chancellor. "Obi-Wan" is a big safety with freakish athleticism. This highlight video shows that he's a pretty solid open field tackler. He possesses some good motor and good close out speed to make the tackle. He also shows some pretty good fundamentals wrapping rather than laying out the big hit. It should be no surprise that he'll be a starter next year once Reggie Nelson's contract is up. The tandem of KuJo (Joseph) and Obi-Wan has a lot of potential to be a nice Safety tandem in the forseeable future.
Round 3 - Pick 88: Eddie Vanderdoes, DT, UCLA
The Raiders let Stacy McGee go to the Redskins. They cut Dan Williams late in the offseason. Not a lot of depth at Defensive Tackle outside of Justin Ellis and Darius Latham and they addressed that here with the 3rd round. This pick is like a repeat of Mario Edwards, Jr. He's very athletic and has some solid motor to make a defensive play. He has problems with keeping his weight down. Those are the same pros and cons that Mario Edwards, Jr. had when he was drafted in the 2nd round two years ago. There's a lot of upside and potential with this pick. Vanderdoes fills a need at the DT position. The Raiders needed a "big boy" with football that can stuff the run and potentially push the pocket. Yes, 2.5 career sacks at UCLA does not spell him as an interior rusher. But with some coaching and conditioning, this guy could eat up blocks to free up Mack and Irvin in passing down situations.
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