Dane Brugler of The Athletic compiled a full seven-round mock draft. A number of USC Trojans were included in this one. The last player selected from USC was cornerback Mekhi Blackmon, who went 231st in the seventh round to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Blackmon joins Jordan Addison, Andrew Vorhees, and Tuli Tuipulotu as the Trojans likely to hear their names called in this NFL draft. That feels like the most realistic path with Brett Neilon, Nick Figueroa, and Travis Dye going undrafted.
The Raiders — in this mock draft from Brugler — also picked Devin Witherspoon, the cornerback from Illinois, with the seventh overall selection, so the Raiders are doing everything they can to retool their defense in the second year under head coach Josh McDaniels after a disappointing season in 2022.
Blackmon transferred from Colorado and was exceptional last season in his one year in Southern California, but this cornerback class is talented and deep, so it pushed him down the board a little bit.
Still, the Raiders are a great landing spot for Blackmon, who should be able to come in and compete right away for a spot on the 53-man roster, and there’s a path to playing time right away as well.
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