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Oakland Raiders NFL Draft: Does Reggie have a type?

By Nick Hjeltness

Sep 30, 2014; Alameda, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie at a press conference to introduce Tony Sparano (not pictured) as Raiders interim coach at the Raiders practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 30, 2014; Alameda, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie at a press conference to introduce Tony Sparano (not pictured) as Raiders interim coach at the Raiders practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Aug 28, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie (left) and Seattle Seahawks punter Jon Ryan (9) before the game at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 28, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie (left) and Seattle Seahawks punter Jon Ryan (9) before the game at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

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34 total selections in four years. 19 of them were on defense, and 15 of them were on offense. Of the 34 selections: 29 of them were seniors, and 15 were team captains.

When McKenzie took over as head honcho, the Raiders roster was a mess. He had basically as much work to do on both sides of the ball, so it looks like he slightly prefers to build on the defensive side, based on his draft history.

This also tells us that McKenzie favors senior prospects in a big way, as 85% of his draft classes have consisted of seniors. 41% of the players he has selected have been team captains, which is another notable number.

Amari Cooper, Mario Edwards Jr. and Menelik Watson were all juniors, so he isn’t unwilling to draft an underclassman with an early selection, but it’s safe to say that the vast majority of this upcoming draft class will be seniors.

Size and Athleticism thresholds

To fine tune this a little bit more, let’s see if there are any minimum size and/or athleticism thresholds that McKenzie looks for.

To find this out, I put together the pre-draft measurements of all of McKenzie’s picks. It’s sorted by position and color coded to make it a little easier to compare players at the same position.

Just to try to keep this somewhat simple, we’ll consider the minimum thresholds to be whatever the lowest mark is per position. I made note of some positions the Raiders could be targeting below the screenshot.

  • DB: 5’11 1/8″, 190 lbs., 31 1/8″ arms, 9″ hands, 4.51 40-yard dash, 8 bench press reps, 33 1/2″ vertical, 118″ broad, 7.29 3-cone, 4.56 20-yard shuttle.
  • DE: 6’2″, 262 lbs., 33 1/4″ arms, 10 1/4″ hands, 4.88 40-yard dash, 14 bench press reps, 30 1/2″ vertical, 110″ broad, 7.52 3-cone, 4.57 20-yard shuttle.
  • DT: 6’0″, 312 lbs., 33″ arms, 10 1/4″ hands, 5.27 40-yard dash, 25 bench press reps, 28″ vertical, 92″ broad, 7.81 3-cone, 4.75 2o-yard shuttle.
  • LB: 6’0″, 231 lbs., 30 3/4″ arms, 9″ hands, 4.83 40-yard dash, 19 bench press reps, 31″ vertical, 116″ broad, 7.59 3-cone, 5.01 20-yard shuttle.
  • OT: 6’5″, 303 lbs., 32″ arms, 9″ hands, 5.3 40-yard dash, 19 bench press reps, 24 1/2″ vertical, 101″ broad, 8.31 3-cone, 5.01 20-yard shuttle.
  • *WR: 5’11 1/2″, 190 lbs., 31 1/2″ arms, 10″ hands, 4.54 40-yard dash, 12 bench press reps, 33″ vertical, 117″ broad, 7.15 3-cone, 4.4 20-yard shuttle.

*Debose was likely drafted as just a KR/PR, so the actual minimum threshold for WR might be Amari’s height and weight.

Next, let’s look at some players from this draft class that fit the mold we’ve identified so far.

Next: Players That Fit The Mold

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