During the 2019 and 2020 NFL drafts, the Raiders had a combined five first-round picks. Of those five selections, only three are still on the roster heading into the 2022 offseason. And of those three, only two are projected to be starters during this upcoming season (Josh Jacobs and Johnathan Abram).
Given all of their first-round draft capital over the last few years and their misses, it’s hard to argue that the Raiders are a good drafting team, right? Well, maybe not. Because the draft is so much more than just the first round.
In a recent article by Timo Riske of Pro Football Focus, he took a look at the last three drafts to see which team has been the best at picking players. Surprisingly, the Raiders came in at No. 4 when it comes to total WAR (wins above replacement) since 2019. Here are Riske’s thoughts on the Raiders and their draft success over the last three years:
“The Las Vegas Raiders have famously missed on many early picks in recent memory, but the sheer expected value of their picks still gave them a young core of players to build around. Wide receiver Hunter Renfrow and edge defender Maxx Crosby are already established as one of the best at their respective positions, while even younger players like Nate Hobbs, Trevon Moehrig and Bryan Edwards showed a lot of promise last year.
The Raiders are a perfect example of why amassing draft capital is a good strategy. Between their first-round draft misses and the sudden end to Henry Ruggs‘ promising career, a lot has gone wrong for the Raiders over the last three drafts, and yet they have a competitive roster and a lot of potential cap space for this year’s free agency.”
Riske makes a good point that while they have missed on their fair share of picks, they’ve also hit on several players on Day 3. The key for the Raiders has been to stockpile picks to give themselves more shots at finding the right players.
While Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock are now out of the picture, the overall philosophy will likely stay the same as Dave Zieger and the Patriots have always been in favor of trading down and acquiring more assets. Look for the Raiders to do that once again this offseason.
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