Tag: Raiders rookies

Raiders say no pressure on top pick Brock Bowers to put up big numbers right away

No pressure on top pick Brock Bowers to put up big numbers right away says assistant GM Champ Kelly

Most teams drafting in the top half of the first round take a player with the expectations they will make an instant impact on the team. Or at least that’s the hope. That’s not something the Raiders have gotten out of a high first round pick in the draft in quite some time. Will Brock Bowers be the one who changes that? If so, the Raiders are not going to force the issue.

“There’s by no means pressure on him to come in and attain any numbers,” Raiders assistant GM Champ Kelly said of Bowers. “We need him to come in, learn this system, get acclimated to this city, meet his teammates, learn how to work well with Michael Mayer and Harrison Bryant, Cole Fotheringham, Zach Gentry. Get to know those guys and really learn the offense. But he’s a really fun piece to have because it’s going to be interesting to see how defenses are going to deploy when he’s on the football field.”

Should he not put up big numbers as a rookie, it would be the first time in a very long time that wasn’t the case for Bowers who was a four-star recruit out of High School and a First Team All American every year of his college career.

There’s no question the Raiders have high hopes for Bowers overall. They selected him despite greater needs at other positions because they believe he was the best player on the board regardless of position. They also see him as more than just a tight end.

“My wife could watch the tape on Brock and be excited about him,” said Kelly. “He’s a really good football player. Was highly productive in college. His position is tight end, but we saw him as a playmaker and offensive weapon.”

At Georgia, along with his tight end duties, Bowers lined up in as a slot receiver, in the backfield as an in line blocker, and even took the ball on reverses as a runner. The Raiders are hoping the threat of all the ways they could use him will force defenses to account for him. So, even when he doesn’t get the ball, he could free up others to make plays.

Here’s who is expected to report today to Raiders pre-camp warmup

Which players are expected to report today to Raiders pre-camp warmup

[anyclip pubname=”2123″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8169″]

The first signs of life are happening today at the Raiders facility in Henderson Nevada. Today a select few players report for the team’s three-day pre-camp warmup.

Expected in attendance are all rookies, first year players, and quarterbacks. A total of 30 players. Though it’s possible some others may be invited to attend, these players are sure to be there.

The list of those who are expected to be in attendance is as follows:

Rookies:

David Agoha 62 DE 6-4 252 NFL I.P.P
Jakorian Bennett 29 CB 5-11 195 Maryland
Amari Burney 56 LB 6-2 228 Florida
McClendon Curtis 63 G 6-6 325
Tennessee-Chattanooga
Jaydon Grant 40 S 6-0 190 Oregon State
Azizi Hearn 48 CB 6-1 204 UCLA
Michael Mayer 87 TE 6-4 265 Notre Dame
Aidan O’Connell 4 QB 6-3 210 Purdue
Jordan Perryman 49 CB 6-0 198 Washington
Adam Plant 52 DE 6-5 263 UNLV
John Samuel Shenker 86 TE 6-3 242 Auburn
Nesta Jade Silvera 97 DT 6-2 315 Arizona State
Chris Smith II 42 S 5-11 195 Georgia
George Tarlas 79 DE 6-3 253 Boise State
Drake Thomas 57 LB 5-11 223 N.C. State
Tre Tucker 89 WR 5-9 185 Cincinnati
Dalton Wagner 78 T 6-8 320 Arkansas
Tyree Wilson 9 DE 6-6 275 Texas Tech
Byron Young 93 DT 6-3 292 Alabama

First year players

Ike Brown 46 CB 6-1 185
Florida International
Bryce Cosby 44 CB 5-10 188 Ball State
Cole Fotheringham 85 TE 6-4 243 Utah
Chase Garbers 15 QB 6-2 225 California
Vitaliy Gurman 73 G/T 6-3 305 Toledo
Chris Lacy 14 WR 6-3 205 Oklahoma State
Kana’i Mauga 43 LB 6-2 245 USC
Jordan Meredith 61 G 6-2 300 Western Kentucky
Kristian Wilkerson 83 WR 6-1 201
Southeast Missouri State

Quarterbacks

Jimmy Garoppolo 10 QB 6-2 225 31 10 Eastern Illinois
Brian Hoyer 7 QB 6-2 215 37 15 Michigan State
Aidan O’Connell* 4 QB 6-3 210 24 R Purdue
Chase Garbers* 15 QB 6-2 225 24 1 California

*Also listed among rookies or first year players

Keep in mind, this is who will report. Not necessarily who will participate in practice. That is depending mostly upon the health of the player.

The remaining 60 Raiders veteran players will report on July 25.

Look: Raiders rookies suit up in official uniform for first time

Look: Raiders rookies suit up in official uniform for first time

[anyclip pubname=”2103″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8036″]

This past weekend was the NFLPA Rookie Premiere. Of the nine Raiders rookies, a league-leading four of them were in attendance at the Rookie Premiere. One of the perks of being among those invited is the opportunity to suit up in the official uniform of the team that drafted them.

Those rookies included seventh overall pick ED Tyree Wilson, 35th overall pick TE Michael Mayer, 100th overall pick WR Tre Tucker, and fourth round QB Aidan O’Connell.

Here, you can see them in their spankin new Silver & Black uniforms.

First, Tyree Wilson, wearing his No. 9 jersey.

Then TE Michael Mayer in his No. 87 jersey.

And here is Mayer next to 5-6 Deuce Vaughn for scale.

Here’s a few shots of QB Aidan O’Connell in his No. 4 jersey.

At the end of this video you can see WR Tre Tucker in his No. 89 jersey.

And here’s all 40 Rookie Premiere attendees in uniform together. Michael Mayer is front left, Tre Tucker is third row second from right, Aidan O’Connell third round left end, and Tyree Wilson is back row right end.

 

Raiders officially sign 10 undrafted free agents ahead of rookie camp

Here are the 11 newest UDFAs and IPP player headed to Raiders rookie camp.

[anyclip pubname=”2103″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8036″]

Raiders rookie camp starts today. And just before those players hit the field, the team has made the signings of their undrafted rookies official.

Here are the 10 additions along with their International Pathway Program offseason invitation:

Player Pos. Ht. Wt. College
David Agoha DL 6-4 252 NFL I.P.P
McClendon Curtis G 6-6 325 Chattanooga
Jaydon Grant S 6-0 190 Oregon State
Azizi Hearn CB 6-1 204 UCLA
Brock Martin DE 6-2 240 Oklahoma State
Jordan Perryman CB 6-0 198 Washington
Adam Plant DE 6-5 263 UNLV
John Shenker TE 6-3 242 Auburn
George Tarlas DE 6-3 253 Boise State
Drake Thomas LB 5-11 223 N.C. State
Dalton Wagner T 6-8 320 Arkansas

Agoha: A native of Abia State, Nigera, he was Allocated to the Raiders from the NFL International Player Pathway program.

Curtis: P Started 38 games over the past four seasons at Tennessee-Chattanooga, including 30 starts at right guard where he was a three-time First-team All-SoCon selection.

Grant: A Second-team All-Pac-12 player in 2022 as a sixth year senior. He has career totals of nine interceptions, and 28 pass breakups for the Beavers.

Hearn: Transferred to UCLA as a senior following three years at Wyoming and a season at University of Arizona. In total, he had 37 starts over five collegiate seasons.

Martin: The edge rusher put up 16 sacks and 40 tackles for loss over 34 starts at Oklahoma State and was named Second-team All-Big 12 as senior.

Perryman: A two-time First-team All-Big Sky performer at UC Davis in 2021, he transferred to Washington where he started 10 games with one interception and 12 pass breakups.

Plant: The UNLV product, set career highs last season with 62 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks and three forced fumbles.

Shenker: Played Finished his five-year career at as the school’s all-time leader in receptions for a tight end (68) and second in receiving yards (779).

Tarlas: Played Transferred to Boise State after four years at Weber State where his 19 sacks and 25 tackles for loss earned him All-Big Sky honors thrice.

Thomas: Played A two-time First-team All-ACC performer at NC State with 19 career sacks, 46 tackles for loss, four interceptions, and 13 pass breakups.

Wagner: Started 40 games at Arkansa and was twice named All-SEC.

Raiders rookies report to training camp

It’s training camp report day for Raiders rookies

Training camp has arrived for some Raiders players. As is always the case, the rookies arrive first, along with the first-year players and quarterbacks. The Raiders tweeted out images of some of their rookies showing up at the facility this morning.

Rookies would include their six draft picks and all their undrafted free agents.

As for the rest of the team, they report on Wednesday with the first practice taking place on Thursday, July 21.

The Raiders are among the first teams to take the field for training camp because they will play in the first preseason game; the Hall of Fame game which takes place in Canton Ohio.

That means these players who report today will get a bit of a head start on their NFL careers. This after already being among the first teams to start their offseason programs due to having a new head coach in Josh McDaniels.

Raiders GM Mike Mayock: CB Damon Arnette ‘Has a chance to be special’

The Raiders had a huge need at cornerback and addressed it in the draft with Ohio State product, Damon Arnette.

When Raiders general manager Mike Mayock struck out in the free-agent cornerback market, he went to plan “B.”

That plan was to remedy the position via the NFL draft, and it’s personified by cornerback Damon Arnette.

Las Vegas also brought veteran CB Prince Amukamara into training camp to compete for a starting job, just to be safe, but Arnette grabbed ahold of the position and never let go. Amukamara was released, and the gig belongs to the rookie, drafted in the first round out of Ohio State.

Arnette clearly had an impressive camp. According to Mayock, Arnette is as skilled as the Raiders’ brass had hoped.

“Damon was exactly what we thought he would be off tape, which was first of all, tough and competitive. We thought he was one of the toughest and most competitive corners in this draft, and he was that, and he will be that,” Mayock told reporters on Sunday. “He’s quick, he’s fast, he finds the ball in the air. And as he learns how to be a pro and consistently detail every step along the way, he has a chance to be special. He’s got a long way to go, but he’s got a chance.” 

That is high praise from Mayock, which bodes well for Arnette. It must be noted that there was no preseason this year, so unfortunately the young CB has seen no live-action.

But being tough and competitive seems to be a prerequisite for being a Raider in the regime of Mayock and coach Jon Gruden. Arnette has that in spades, according to Mayock, and that, along with his physical skills, gives him a chance to be special in Las Vegas.

[vertical-gallery id=73182]

[lawrence-newsletter]

Raiders agree to deal with 3rd-round pick, LB Tanner Muse

The Raiders signed a number of rookies after they tested negative for COVID-19, including LB Tanner Muse

The Raiders signed multiple draft picks on Saturday, including third-round pick, linebacker Tanner Muse, according to multiple reports.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the deal is for four years and just over $4.3 million, which includes a signing bonus of $832,292.

Muse played safety at Clemson, but he’ll learn to play linebacker for Las Vegas. Measuring 6-foot-2 and 229 pounds, Muse ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine, which helped his draft stock tremendously.

According to general manager Mike Mayock, Muse will start as a special teams player and learn to play either inside or weakside linebacker.

Muse is just the type of player that Mayock and coach Jon Gruden has said they want to build the team with. He’s known for his intensity, hustle and leadership with a championship-caliber program, Clemson.

Raiders brass has shown an affinity for Clemson’s winning ways, selecting former Tiger, defensive end Clelin Ferrell, with Mayock’s first pick as Raiders’ GM in 2019, as well as choosing wide receiver Hunter Renfrow and defensive back Trayvon Mullen in the same draft.

In 2020, Muse was joined by former Clemson guard, John Simpson, in joining the Raiders collection of former Clemson stars.

Mike Mayock: Raiders’ 2019 rookies face big challenge in Year 2

The Raiders’ rookies from 2019 face a big challenge in 2020, according to Mike Mayock.

It’s kind of hard to imagine a team relying more heavily on their rookie class than the Raiders did in 2019. Nearly every player they drafted through the fifth round became a regular starter for the team – in part through sheer desperation by a team that had major needs, and also because those rookies earned their playing time.

Each of the team’s three first-round picks was an immediate starter, though safety Johnathan Abram was lost to injury in the season opener. Fourth-round tight end Foster Moreau and fifth-round receiver Hunter Renfrow were early-season starters, as well. After four weeks, fourth-round defensive end Maxx Crosby was a starter. And by midseason, second-round pick Trayvon Mullen entered the starting lineup in the secondary.

The only player drafted in the first five rounds who didn’t become a starter and play significant snaps was cornerback Isaiah Johnson; he spent the first half of the season on injured reserve.

Those snaps were crucial to the Raiders and the class was an overwhelming success. The question is, what will they do for an encore? Raiders GM Mike Mayock knows a player’s second season comes with potential pitfalls, of which these young players must be wary.

“They have a challenge now because they played so much, and people have tape on all our rookies,” Mayock said in an interview from the Senior Bowl with the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “The old saying is, you have your biggest jump between Year 1 and Year 2. So the challenge for our guys is making sure that happens. Don’t be fat and happy. Teams are going to game plan for you. Maxx Crosby gets 10 sacks. Hunter Renfrow has two consecutive 100-yard games at the end of the season. Josh Jacobs could be the Rookie of the Year. People are going to game plan for these kids. And it’s going to be a big challenge for them to take their game from where it’s at today and move it to another level.”

For Jacobs, Crosby, Renfrow and Mullen, they all must continue their trajectory from last season. You can add undrafted fullback Alec Ingold to that, as well. Top pick Clelin Ferrell showed some flashes and must get more consistent with his pressure and run stopping. Abram and Moreau just need to get back to showing what they did early on. Anything they get from Isaiah Johnson is a bonus.

Even with their significant contributions, the team faded down the stretch, losing five of its last six games. That was in part due to a rash of injuries, which exposed the team’s youth and lack of depth. Though even with the late stumble, there was little indication of any of these guys hitting a rookie wall. That’s certainly a good sign they can face that ‘sophomore slump’ head on.