Free agency is not just a time to make a splash, It is also a time to try and buy low on players on whom other teams have given up. With 11 outside free agents signed by the Raiders, the odds are most of them fall into the latter category.
Not coincidentally two such players landed among Pro Football Focus‘s list of the biggest buts since 2015. After all, if you were drafted in the top ten since 2015 and have been let go by the team that drafted you, you have not lived up to your draft status.
They have Josh Rosen as the top bust of all. You might recall, the Raiders traded out of the 10th overall spot in 2018 with the Cardinals so they could take Rosen. A year later they traded Rosen to the Dolphins where he started just three games last season.
The list continues with the top five being Mitchell Trubisky (Bears), Soloman Thomas (49ers), John Ross (Bengals), Leonard Floyd (Bears).
Sixth on the list is 2016 10th overall pick Eli Apple (Giants) who the Raiders signed this offseason after missing out on their top two choices Byron Jones and Chris Harris Jr. Here is. what PFF had to say about Apple’s fall from grace.
Ohio State has been a cornerback factory over the past half-decade, but Apple is one of the school’s few flops in the NFL. Unlike others on this list, though, Apple didn’t have many on-field red-flags to worry about. The biggest from a grading perspective was his tackling. Apple earned tackling grades of 61.3 and 53.7 in 2014 and 2015, respectively. We’ve seen that show up at times in the NFL, as he missed 19 tackles on 100 attempts in 2018.
I think the biggest thing here was simply overvaluing his skillset. He was good at Ohio State, but not near what we’ve seen from their other recent top picks from a grading and statistical standpoint. Apple earned and 82.0 coverage grade his final season at Ohio State and allowed 14 first downs in his coverage. Compare that to the other Ohio State corners who went (or will go) in the first round and he’s bottom of the barrel:
Add an overvaluing of his skillset to multiple reports of immaturity that came out of the Giants locker room and you get why he was traded before his rookie contract even expired.
Right after Apple on the list was 2015 second overall pick Marcus Mariota who comes to Las Vegas on a deal that ranges from a 1-year, $7.5 million deal to 2-year $37.5 million deal should he win the starting job and meet playing time incentives.
Of any guy on this list, Mariota probably has the fewest holes to poke in his college profile even in retrospect. He was the guy who anonymous scouts at the time jokingly said that the fact he had no red flags was itself a red flag. His 93.0 overall grade in 2014 is still one of the highest-graded seasons at the position we’ve seen in our six years of grading. His 15 turnover-worthy plays weren’t great, but eight of them were fumbles (a problem we’ve seen carry over to the NFL, too).
The fumbles haven’t been why he was benched for Ryan Tannehill and signed a backup deal in Las Vegas. Truthfully, I can’t tell you why he never really improved after year two in the NFL. It’s very much a head-scratcher, and I’m not sure you can even explain it with him coming from a “college-y” Oregon offense.
Dante Fowler (Jaguars), Kevin White (Bears), and Ereck Flowers (Giants) round out the list.
Nothing wrong with the Raiders trying to add some competition and depth with former top rated players in need of resurrecting their careers. They have a history of success with such players (Lincoln Kennedy and Jim Plunkett come to mind).