From now until the end of April, most of the talk surrounding the Las Vegas Raiders will revolve around two things, free agency, and the 2021 NFL Draft. Unlike previous years, the Raiders do not hold multiple first-round picks and based on their 8-8 record this past season, they will be picking in the middle of the first round.
From now until draft day, there will be many mocks presented across all kinds of different publications, and it is always fun to see what players are being mocked to the Raiders. In a recent mock draft, Las Vegas bolsters the defense in a big way, getting an elite player at pick No. 17 overall.
Raiders land a steal at pick No. 17 overall
Luke Easterling from Draft Wire recently released his two-round post-Super Bowl Mock Draft, and in it, the Raiders came away with an absolute steal. While a lot of the talk has centered around the team needing to upgrade on defense, and rightfully so, getting a player like this in the middle of the first round would be a steal for Gus Bradley and his staff.
In this mock, the Raiders add a linebacker, but it is not Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, a player that many have been mocking to Las Vegas. Instead, it is the linebacker many consider not only a top-10 pick but the best defensive player in this draft class in Penn State’s Micah Parsons.
While landing Parsons would be an absolute best-case scenario, he is not someone I believe will be available at No. 17. Owusu-Koramoah is a more likely pick, but if Parsons is still on the board, Mike Mayock needs to sprint up to the podium to deliver the index card to Roger Goodell.
In the second round, Las Vegas bolstered their defensive line, adding Washington defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike, a player who some believe could sneak into the first round. Overall, this would be a perfect two-round haul for the Raiders, who need playmakers on defense and get two of them within the first 50 picks of the 2021 NFL Draft.