Ranking the Las Vegas Raiders first round picks since 2010
Ranking the Las Vegas Raiders first-round picks since 2010
1. Khalil Mack: 2014 – 5th overall, Buffalo
You knew it when you clicked on this article that the only choice for number one was going to be the former 5th overall pick, Khalil Mack. The LB/DE hybrid from Buffalo was a small school product but he had all of the measurables and stats to show how dominant of a player he was at that level.
After a relatively quiet rookie year where he had just 4 sacks but backed it up with 16 tackles for loss, Mack burst onto the scene with an incredible second season with 15 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 23 tackles for loss. His impact was felt all over the field and he became the first player in NFL history to be named First-Team All-Pro at two positions, outside linebacker and defensive end.
His dominance in Oakland continued with the Raiders for another two seasons where he racked up 21.5 sacks, another All-Pro selection, and a third consecutive Pro Bowl nod. We all thought that he would be the next Raiders defensive player to make the Hall of Fame and that he would be wearing the Silver and Black for the next decade or more.
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Jon Gruden had other plans unfortunately and shipped him over to Chicago for a large draft haul but one could argue it wasn’t enough for the caliber of player that Mack is. We don’t need to rehash history about whether it was the right move or not but the bottom line is the Raiders drafted one of the best defensive players in the history of the game and for some reason, he was only wearing the Silver and Black for four years. Maybe one day he’ll return like Charles Woodson did but given how things ended, we wouldn’t count on that.