2021 NFL Draft: Las Vegas Raiders can wait to No. 48 for an OT
By Brad Weiss
The Las Vegas Raiders need help at offensive tackle, but with so much depth this year, they can wait until the second round to fill that void.
We are officially less than two weeks away from the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft kicking off, a draft in which the Las Vegas Raiders hold the No. 17 overall selection. Las Vegas has holes to fill on both sides of the ball and looking around at recent mock drafts, it is clear that nobody knows what Jon Gruden plans to do.
Over the last two NFL Drafts, the combination of Gruden and Mike Mayock have held five first-round picks, and of those five, really only Josh Jacobs has proven he can be a dynamic player at the NFL level consistently. Clelin Ferrell has struggled to get pressure, Johnathan Abram has battled injuries and inconsistent play, and the jury is still out on how good Henry Ruggs III and Damon Arnette are going to be.
Hopefully, for the Raiders, Ruggs can become the WR1 he was drafted to be, as he was picked ahead of everyone else at his position in a stacked wideout draft class. Last season, that mantle belonged to Nelson Agholor, who has since left for New England, and if his place, Ruggs will have to step up and be that deep threat for Derek Carr.
However, for this offense to move the ball the way they did in 2020, the offensive line will have to step up, and after losing a bunch of starters from last season, there are more questions than answers heading into the 2021 NFL Draft.