With more than three rounds left in the 2020 NFL draft, the Raiders draft was over. After a couple trades, they made their final pick at No. 139 overall in the 4th round, then sat out the rest of the way. According to GM Mike Mayock, the COVID-19 pandemic response played a part in that.
“We didn’t have any six or seven [round picks] heading into this weekend and one of our concerns was depending on what happens with the pandemic, we think there’s a pretty good chance we’re not going to see our rookies in person until maybe training camp,” Mayock said in his post-draft conference call. And if that’s the case, you’d better make sure your drafted rookies are smart, hard-working, and accountable, because they’re going to have a shortened amount of time to make the team.”
When the draft started, the Raiders had pick No. 159 in the fifth round. Then they traded down in the third round with the Patriots and swapped fifth-round picks, dropping to pick No. 172. Come the start of the fourth round, they wanted to jump up to get John Simpson, so they traded away that pick at pick No. 172 to do it. And that was it. Same amount of picks as before, but none past the fourth round.
“We had seven of the first 139 picks, and that was a little bit of the thought process about not trying to trade down out of No. 139,” Mayock continued. “We had some offers to move out of there and a) we wanted [Amik] Robertson if he was there, but the farther you get down through the draft, the more concerns we had about a kid being able to realistically compete and make the roster.”
Mayock did show last year that the fourth round is a good one for him. He grabbed starter edge rusher Maxx Crosby and tight end Foster Moreau in that round.
Last year the Raiders made two picks in rounds 5-7, taking Clemson receiver Hunter Renfrow in the fifth-round and Prairie View A&M’s Quinton Bell in the seventh round. Renfrow became the team’s most reliable receiver and Bell didn’t make the team. So, yeah, mixed results.
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