Oakland Raiders Select Gareon Conley 24th Overall

With the 24th overall selection, the Oakland Raiders made Ohio State cornerback Gareon Conley their pick in the first round.

After months of speculation, the Oakland Raiders have made their selection at 24th overall — Gareon Conley, cornerback, Ohio State.

With so much talent on the board, including Reuben Foster, it was certainly a tough decision for the reigning Executive of the Year, Reggie McKenzie. More so than any year in the McKenzie era, the Raiders pick was anyone’s guess. And considering the recent possible legal trouble involving Conley, this wasn’t the pick most expected.

But the Raiders do have a major need at cornerback. Conley has the speed and agility to be the team’s slot cornerback in 2017. Yet he still has the size and length to move to the outside down the road to replace either Sean Smith or David Amerson.

Conley is a legit talent, and many had him in the top 15 of the draft prior to the rape allegations. But since that news broke, NFL teams have undoubtedly been hard at work to get to the bottom of the situation.

Obviously, if the Raiders didn’t feel he would be cleared of any wrongdoing, they wouldn’t have picked him. There is reportedly surveillance video that could potentially clear Conley as well.

As far as the player on the field, Conley stands at 6′ and 195 pounds. His 33″ arm length ranks in the 92nd percentile among all cornerbacks since 1999, which fits the McKenzie prototype at cornerback.

He ran a 4.44 second 40-yard dash at the combine, posted a vertical of 37″, a broad jump of 129″ and a 3-cone drill of 6.68 seconds. Simply put, he’s an elite athlete with size.

Must Read: Predicting Reggie McKenzie's Big Board

On film, he’s got excellent technique and is very well rounded. In an article where I attempted to predict Reggie McKenzie’s big board, Conley was a player that checked every single box McKenzie looks for in a cornerback. The only thing he didn’t officially check was being an underclassman. However, he played three years at Ohio State. Amari Cooper and Mario Edwards Jr. are two of the four underclassman McKenzie has ever picked, and they both played three years in college as well.

This was the list of players that met every McKenzie threshold found in the aforementioned article.

Per NFL.com, this is what they have as the strengths of Conley:

"“Has NFL size with above-average length. Plays long. At his best when playing with inside leverage and trapping receivers against the boundary. Shades receivers with a basketball stance — wide base, bent knees and wide arms. Creates challenging throwing lanes to target. Allowed just 37 percent completion rate. Press-man talent with zone instincts. Shows discipline and technique on verticals and curls. Matches with his feet rather than grabbing.”"

Sounds promising so far. Here’s the rest of their scouting report:

"“Senses when his pattern is designed to clear space for another receiver and reacts accordingly. Has plus burst to the throw. Uses length to play around receiver and bat passes down underneath without interfering. Runs well and sinks into receiver’s lap down the field, getting his head around to make a play on the ball. Plays the ball with soft hands and outstanding timing.”"

Here is what they have for weaknesses:

"“Can be a little tight-hipped in his transitions. Pattern-match was just average when facing off against more advanced route trees. Michigan receivers created separation and some panic in Conley with their inside releases and crossing routes. Got caught reaching and holding in attempt to recover. Will occasionally default to face-guarding rather than turning to find ball. Can be slow to digest route combinations and lose track of his man. Doesn’’t look as comfortable or confident in off-man. Plays small in run support and needs to work on consistency as a tackler. Gets driven off his spot by blocking receivers and rarely charges forward to attack near the line of scrimmage.”"

For weaknesses, nothing seems to detrimental. At least in the opinion of the individual who wrote the scouting report.

To wrap this up, this is an excellent pick. He was one of the most talented players still left on the board and he fills a need. Reuben Foster would have been great, but it’s understandable why he was passed on.

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Be on the lookout for an in-depth breakdown on Conley in the coming days.