Raiders 7-round mock draft: Las Vegas trades down in the first round
player. 812. . Linebacker. Buckeyes . Malik Harrison. 55
The trade with the Ravens nets general manager Mike Mayock a second round pick, something he has been adamant about getting heading into the draft. With the selection, Mayock continues to add to the linebacker group, an area he has targeted and improve vastly this offseason.
With the No. 55 overall selection, the Raiders select Ohio State linebacker Malik Harrison, who would be a perfect addition to a group that added Nick Kwiatkoski and Cory Littleton in free agency. Kwiatkoski will be the starting middle linebacker, and Littleton will be at weakside, and Harrison joins the group as a violent hitter and an underrated athlete.
He had one of the top-3 cone times at the Combine and combined that with a solid 4.6 40 time. Harrison played in the Big 10 Conference which is filled with talented running backs and offensive lineman, as well, and Mayock likes his picks from big schools in big conferences.
The one knock on Harrison is his coverage ability. Not that he can’t cover, just that he didn’t get many reps in man coverage during his time with the Buckeyes. With more experience he can develop better coverage skills and become on of the premier outside linebackers in this draft. He reminds me a lot of Erik Hendricks.