Handing out draft grades and then arguing about them on social media is one of America’s greatest pastimes. However, rarely do we go back and grade the grades.
In a recent article by Michael Renner, he reviewed Pro Football Focus’ grades from the 2019 NFL Draft. PFF initially graded this class as “below-average”, saying that the team reached on their first four picks. They did offer some praise for their late-round selections but were generally critical of the entire draft.
When looking back a the 2019 draft through the eyes of Pro Football Focus, it was a bit of a mixed bag for the Raiders as the site wasn’t big fans of their first-round pick. However, hitting on the likes of Maxx Crosby, Foster Moreau and Hunter Renfrow certainly helped their overall grade.
The thing about the Raiders’ draft last year was that with far and away the most draft capital of any franchise in the league, they were always going to add talent. So far, though, they’ve gotten impact from one of three first-rounders — and that was from a running back. While Josh Jacobs‘ (Pick: 24 | PFF Board: 60) 86.9 rushing grade is terrific, it’s not bringing much to the table from a value perspective. This draft would look a lot more how you’d expect if you flipped the Raiders fourth-rounder and fourth overall pick (Maxx Crosby and Clelin Ferrell).
While the Raiders expect to get even more from their 2019 first-round picks this season, what they did on the second and third day of the draft is what made this class a success.
As Pro Football Focus admits, they were probably a bit too harsh on the Raiders and their class. But it remains to be seen how the likes of Clelin Ferrell and Johnathan Abram do for the Raiders. If those two players hit, this will be considered one of the best draft classes in the team’s history.
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