For the most part, the Raiders had a pretty flawless offseason. They were able to acquire several starting-caliber defenders in free agency and upgrade their wide receiver corps in the draft with Henry Ruggs III and Bryan Edwards.
But every team has a move or two they regret after the offseason “ends.” For the Raiders, the move could end up being the selection of cornerback Damon Arnette.
In a recent article by Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report, he named each team’s biggest regret of the offseason. For the Raiders, he had to nitpick some, writing about the selection of Arnette at No. 19. Take a look at a snippet of Knox’s thoughts on the pick:
The Las Vegas Raiders have made no secret of the fact that they intend to draft the players they want regardless of perceived draft value. They did so by taking pass-rusher Clelin Ferrell fourth overall last year, and they did it again by taking Ohio State cornerback Damon Arnette 19th overall this year.
Instead of taking a premier pass-rushing prospect like K’Lavon Chaisson or a playmaking linebacker like Kenneth Murray, the Raiders drafted a player who could be the next version of Gareon Conley.
While there were likely “better” players available, the Arnette selection did fill a need for the Raiders as they are searching for a long-term complement to Trayvon Mullen. While Arnette’s athletic and statistical profile doesn’t scream “first-round pick”, the Raiders loved his toughness and experience.
If Arnette can develop into a starting-caliber cornerback, it will be hard to disagree with Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden given how difficult it is to find good corners. But if he flops, it will certainly be easy to criticize the pick as it was considered a “reach” at the time. Time will tell if Arnette was the right pick at No. 19.
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