Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen mock drafts shift from defense to offense for the Las Vegas Raiders. Most mocks are giving the Raiders an offensive tackle at No. 17 and a few occasionally slot them a linebacker.
However, one position that we haven’t seen a ton of mocked to the Raiders is cornerback. That does make some sense after the team selected one in the first round last year, picking Damon Arnette at No. 19. But given his struggles as a rookie, could the Raiders go back to the Big Ten again and draft another first-round corner?
In a recent mock draft by Peter Schrager of the NFL Network, he mocked Greg Newsome from Northwestern to the Raiders at No. 17. Here is what he had to say about that selection below:
“This could be higher than other mock drafts have Newsome going, but I think teams are higher on the Northwestern CB than the rest of our “draft media” world. He is smart, tough and brings professionalism to the field. The Raiders will be looking to continue their offseason trend: beefing up the defense.”
Newsome is one of the most well-rounded cornerbacks in this class. He can play on the outside or in the slot. He has experience playing in both man and zone schemes and was productive in both.
If the Raiders want to upgrade their secondary with a scheme diverse player, Newsome would be the ideal candidate in the middle of the first round. Expect him to be the third cornerback off the board after Patrick Surtain II and Jaycee Horn and potentially go around where the Raiders pick at No. 17.
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