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Predicting Reggie McKenzie’s Draft Board

By Nick Hjeltness

Feb 2, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie speaks during the Microsoft future of football press conference at Moscone Center in advance of Super Bowl 50 between the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 2, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie speaks during the Microsoft future of football press conference at Moscone Center in advance of Super Bowl 50 between the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 26, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Texas State Bobcats quarterback Tyler Jones (2) is sacked by Houston Cougars linebacker Tyus Bowser (81) during the first quarter at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 26, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Texas State Bobcats quarterback Tyler Jones (2) is sacked by Houston Cougars linebacker Tyus Bowser (81) during the first quarter at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

McKenzie’s Strict Draft Board

On the draft boards of the offense and defense shown on the previous slide, I mentioned that the exception I decided to make was keeping players who miss the mark in two categories or less on the board, not including senior or team captain.

To narrow things down even more, and to see who really stands out above the rest using these thresholds, this draft board only allows a player to fail in one category, not including team captain.

And since 37 of McKenzie’s 41 picks have been seniors (and two of them were underclassmen who played three seasons), I also tossed out the underclassmen.

This includes offense and defense:

Sep 17, 2016; University Park, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Mark Allen (8) is stopped by Temple Owls defensive linesmen Haason Reddick (7) during the first quarter at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 17, 2016; University Park, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Mark Allen (8) is stopped by Temple Owls defensive linesmen Haason Reddick (7) during the first quarter at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports /

No Fail Board

And just to do one more…here are all of the seniors that did not fail a single threshold — with the lone exception being made for team captain.

Several of the prospects don’t have combine numbers, so they are also included here.

Final Thoughts

Based on everything we learned via the thresholds, these are the players that stood out to me:

RB: Chris Carson, Kareem Hunt, Christian McCaffrey, Jeremy McNichols. The first two check the majority of the boxes for running backs and are also seniors. The last two do the same but are underclassmen.

WR: Chris Godwin, Robert Davis, Amara Darboh, Bug Howard, Kenneth Golladay. Ismael Zamora doesn’t have combine numbers so he’s not listed, but he could be one as well.

Chad Hansen checked every box other than being an underclassman and being 9 pounds underweight. Juju Smith only failed the vertical threshold, and is an underclassman. But he played three years at USC, so that helps his case.

TE: Jonnu Smith and Eric Saubert. There were seven tight ends who didn’t fail a single category, so all are worth noting.

OT: Taylor Moton, Antonio Garcia, Will Holden, Julie’N Davenport, Conor McDermott stand out. There are several potential late-round tackles on the board that allowed one failed category, such as Dion Dawkins, who can play both guard and tackle.

Cam Robinson checked every single box, but he didn’t make the final board due to being an underclassman. However, he played three years at Alabama, so he is 100% in the mix because of that. He is going to be difficult to pass on at 24 if he’s there.

DE: 11 DE’s made the cut on the “no fail” board. It’s a good mix of early, mid and late-round prospects. Tarell Basham and Daeshon Hall look intriguing as late-round options.

Derek Barnett only missed arm length and played three years as an underclassman. Al-Quadin Muhammad checked all the boxes with the exception of not being a senior.

DT: D.J. Jones, Eddie Vanderdoes, Carlos Watkins, Dalvin Tomlinson and Chris Wormley (listed at DE, but I think he ends up here.)

Elijah Qualls isn’t on the final board because he’s an underclassman, but he checked every other box and played three years.

ILB: Jayon Brown and Ben Gedeon are the only two that made the cut on the “no fail” board. Raekwon McMillan would have but he is an underclassmen. However, he did play three years at Ohio State and was a team captain, so I could definitely see him in play as early as 24.

Reuben Foster and Jarrad Davis don’t have athletic testing at the combine, but both are considered impressive athletes and likely would have made the cut if they tested.

OLB: Nine OLB’s made the cut on the “no fail” board. Tyus Bowser could be one to watch at 24, and of course, the same for Haason Reddick.

CB: Kevin King, Fabian Moreau, and Akhello Witherspoon check all the boxes. Gareon Conley does as well, but he didn’t make the cut in the final board because he’s an underclassman. However, he played three years at Ohio State.

McKenzie clearly favors tall and athletic CB’s. Shaquill Griffin would have made the cut if not for his hand size, and several others only missed because of one metric. Sidney Jones only missed the weight metric by 5 pounds and is an underclassman. However, he played three years at Washington. Could be a mid-round steal due to his injury.

S: Obi Melifonwu, Justin Evans, Eddie Jackson, Chuck Clark, Rayshawn Jenkins, John Johnson stand out.

More from Just Blog Baby

One last thing to consider is the EXOS connection with the Raiders. EXOS is an athlete performance company where many college and professional athletes go to train. The Raiders have some former EXOS employees on their staff, and have drafted a handful of players who trained there in the past. So it’s something to keep an eye on.

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