P.J. Hall trade further condemns Raiders 2018 NFL Draft class
The Ugly: Brandon Parker, Nick Nelson, Johnny Townsend, Azeem Victor
As the slide title suggests, things go from bad to ugly very quickly for the 2018 class with this batch of names. Brandon Parker was taken in the third round, 65th overall out of North Carolina A&T, and was forced to start as a rookie.
Parker has started 15 games for the Raiders in his brief career and he has been among the worst starters in the league. His PFF grades of 47.3 and 39.2 speak for themselves, and this is exacerbated by the fact that the Raiders could have chosen a Pro Bowl tackle in Orlando Brown, Jr who was selected 83rd overall.
It would be a major surprise if Parker makes it to Week 1.
Next on the ugly list is cornerback Nick Nelson who has done next to nothing since being selected in the 4th round, 110th overall out of Wisconsin. Nelson has played just 12 games over two years and is a prime cut candidate in a crowded defensive backfield.
Johnny Townsend was a highly-touted punter at the University of Florida and actually “set the all-time punting record for the Gators” in 2016. Jon Gruden, fresh off the release of Marquette King, was in the hunt for a new punter and used a fifth round pick on Townsend when he likely could have signed him as an undrafted free agent.
Townsend was awful in his rookie season and was waived by the Raiders to be replaced by AJ Cole.
Last on this list is a player who barely deserves a footnote in the Raiders’ history books. Azeem Victor was drafted in the sixth round, 216th overall out of Washington but was released before Week 1. He is currently without a team after training camp stints in the AAF and XFL most recently.
Many sixth and seventh round picks do not make the final rosters, so it may not be fair to include Victor on this list, but he is yet another name in this class that failed to make any positive impact for the Silver and Black.