Round 3, Pick No. 80: RB Lynn Bowden Jr
Bowden had difficulty transitioning to running back from college wide receiver and quarterback. So, the Raiders just took a loss and traded him for scraps. Mike Mayock insisted it had nothing to do with Bowden’s character, so then they simply made a bad pick apparently. The Dolphins switched Bowden to wide receiver and gadget player. He ended up catching 28 passes and started a few games when their receiving corps was decimated by injuries.
Grade: F
Round 3, Pick No. 81: WR Bryan Edwards
No one got more training camp hype than Edwards. He and Ruggs would start the first three games. But Edwards would catch just five passes for 99 yards in those games. Which somehow was more yards than he had the rest of the season (94). For all the hype, he finished with 11 catches for 193 yards and one touchdown in the season finale, after the Raiders were out of the playoffs.
Grade: C-
Round 3, Pick No. 100: LB Tanner Muse
This pick was puzzling from the moment they made it. I mean, except for the Clemson thing, considering Gruden and Mayock’s fascination with Clemson players. Muse was touted as a special teams player initially, which makes him an ever more questionable pick in the third round. Then he got injured and was stashed on injured reserve all season. Sounds like optimistically he was viewed as a project. Again, odd to be making project picks in the third round on a team that had plenty of immediate needs.
Grade: D-
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