Oakland Raiders 2018 NFL Draft: 5 front-seven players to take in first round
By John Buhler
New Raiders defensive coordinator Paul Guenther has to figure out what type of players he wants on his defensive line. If he is looking for a space-eating monster, then taking Vita Vea out of Washington could be the pick. Should the Raiders want to stand pat at No. 9 or No. 10 and take an undersized bull rusher at tackle, then the Michigan Wolverines’ Maurice Hurst could be the pick.
Hurst is 6-foot-2, 280 pounds. He could be of the same defensive tackle prototype of Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams or Grady Jarrett of the Atlanta Falcons. Hurst was an insanely productive player in college for the Wolverines. He could give the Raiders’ defensive line the bite it needs to orchestrate the defensive turnaround.
In four years in Ann Arbor, Hurst had 130 total tackles (67 solo, 63 assists), 32.0 tackles for a loss of yardage, 13.5 quarterback sacks, three pass breakups, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Hurst got better each year playing under head coach Jim Harbaugh at Michigan.
Like Harold Landry of the Boston College Eagles, Hurst’s NFL Draft stock is all over the place. While he doesn’t have top-eight accolades of Landry, Hurst could go top-10 or top-25. How he does in his pro day and at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis will decide where he inevitably comes off the board in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Hurst could be a Raider for all we know.