Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, NFL teams have been forced to switch all draft meetings to a virtual chat. With that said, here’s a player the Las Vegas Raiders have recently met with via video chat.
According to a report, the Las Vegas Raiders had a meeting set up with Notre Dame safety Alohi Gilman but since all in-person meetings have been canceled, they’ve met with the senior safety prospect over FaceTime, via Justin Melo of the Draft Wire.
Notre Dame’s pro day was set to take place in South Bend on April 1st before eventually being canceled due to health concerns revolving around COVID-19.
Gilman projects as a mid-late pick who displays adequate football IQ. The former Golden Domer is more of a traditional safety where he’s fundamentally sound in wrapping up ball carriers with solid tackling efforts, but his coverage ability needs improvement as he’s somewhat limited in that area.
Gilman attended the Reese’s Senior Bowl in January but suffered a hamstring injury during practice leading up to the game, causing him to sit out for the remainder of the week.
However, he did attend the NFL Combine where he posted an official time of 4.60 seconds in the 40-yard dash, ranking 12th-best among participating safeties. Gilman also put up 17 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press, which was good for 11th-best among safeties. Additionally, he ranked second in the 20-yard shuttle with a time of 4.08 seconds.
Gilman started his collegiate career in the Naval Academy before making the transition to Notre Dame at the start of his junior season. In 2018, Gilman totaled 94 tackles, two interceptions, five pass breakups and one forced fumble, making his presence felt inside his new environment.
To round out his college career, Gilman tallied 74 tackles, one interception, two pass breakups and three forced fumbles in 2019.
This offseason the Raiders have brought aboard two safties with Jeff Heath and Damarious Randall but with the team’s lacking depth within the secondary, adding additional defensive backs over the three days of the NFL draft is a likely scenario.