The Oakland Raiders wrapped up their first round by selecting Mississippi State safety Johnathan Abram, the best at his position in this draft class.
The Raiders have selected Johnathan Abram with their 27th overall pick. This reflects the team’s needs for more defense. In 2018, the Raiders were last in the league in defense, and in a division with Patrick Mahomes and Philip Rivers, the need for someone who is physical and a sure tackler on the backend is a must.
This adds talent to the Raiders secondary room, and the Raiders are expecting big things out of Abram right away. He will compliment the rest of the Raiders defensive backs very well, and will start right away, which is what you want in a first rounder. Abram is the definition of a Gruden Grinder, and you can see that in this pick.
Abram is a high character guy who loves the game. He can cover ground well, and is physical. He has a high upside, and he can impact the team right now, which is what the Raiders need the most.
This is also a sign of how Mike Mayock is going to be as a general manager. He picked Clelin Ferrell with the 4th overall, and Josh Jacobs with the 24th overall. He and Gruden are picking to shore up the glaring needs for the Raiders, while also selecting solid starters to help the team now.
The Raiders only have one pick heading into Day 2 of the NFL Draft, which is slated to kick off at 4pm PT on Friday. They still have some holes to fill, but from a standpoint of adding talent where it was needed, the combination of Mayock and Gruden certainly got the job done on Thursday night.