The Raiders made seven selections in this year’s NFL draft, a defense-laden class that addressed the roster in the present and future.
They started with a physical strong safety, addressed depth along the defensive front seven and personnel in the running game. Let’s recap was general manager Reggie McKenzie and head coach Jack Del Rio said about each selection:
S Karl Joseph, West Virginia (No. 14 overall)
McKenzie: “By watching the tape, you just see, you can feel his passion. You can feel his intensity in the way he plays. You can feel his toughness. He has a very aggressive mentality. He’s versatile. He can play all over the field, and he’ll run and hit anything that moves.”
Del Rio: “He’s a guy that is very versatile. He can play at all the levels of your defense. He can come off the edge as a blitzer. He can play down in the box. He can play centerfield. He’s a guy that does a great job taking angles, and he’s a very effective and efficient hitter and tackler. He plays with great temperament. We just think he’s a really good football player, and he’ll have an infectious kind of personality and demeanor about himself. So, [we’re] really excited to get our hands on him and looking forward to working with him.”
DL Jihad Ward, Illinois (No. 44 overall)
Del Rio: “There is a lot of upside and growth potential there because of some of the technique stuff that he will learn. He is not a raw player. He played against Big Ten linemen and he has moved along the line. He has played all the way out as a nine technique all the way down to into a three technique. He has been exposed to a lot of football. And, defensive line is not as complex as playing quarterback. We think we can help him grow as a player and we like what we are starting with.”
Edge rusher Shilique Calhoun, Michigan State (No. 75 overall)
Del Rio: “Shilique is more of a, kind of an in between defensive end or a SAM linebacker. He’s an end-of-the-line kind of guy. He’ll have versatility in that he can play the SAM linebacker for us or the LEO position, which is a defensive end. He’s a very productive young man, really understands how to rush the quarterback. He’s been an All-American and he’s been a very productive guy at a good college program. We feel good about fortifying the front. That’s what we were able to do today, add strength and depth and competition to the front.”
QB Connor Cook, Michigan State (No. 100 overall)
McKenzie: “He was a good player still sitting there Day 3. We had a good grade on him and we just wanted to seize the opportunity to at least try to get a good player in here. … “Derek (Carr)’s our quarterback. Whoever we bring in, we’re just looking [at] can he help us? Can he add to the depth? Can he help our team? That was the only reason we went after him. Leadership issues, that was of no concern.”
RB DeAndre Washington, Texas Tech (No. 143 overall)
McKenzie: “He’s the one guy that every time we watched him play, it was very difficult for the first guy to get him down. He had power, quickness and he had speed. He was the kind of the guy that can do it all. He’s tough, instinctive. We just thought he was a really good football player. We think he’s going to help our team a lot.”
LB Cory James, Colorado State (No. 194 overall)
McKenzie: “He has played a lot of positions. We’ll see. For the beginning, we’ll let him play off the ball and see if he can play weakside linebacker, teach him both inside linebacker spots, and nickel. But he’s definitely going to have to try to make his money on special teams. He has a lot of versatility because he’s so athletic. He can run. He really loves playing football and you can really see that in his play.”
OL Vadal Alexander, Louisiana State (No. 234 overall)
McKenzie: “(I was surprised he slipped in the draft), because big guys, they usually get taken. We felt really good about that and we like big people. He’s going to work both (guard and tackle). The versatility is what we liked about him.”
