2021 NFL Draft: Las Vegas Raiders make shocking selection at No. 17
By Brad Weiss
With the No. 17 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Las Vegas Raiders selected Alex Leatherwood from Alabama, a shocking pick to say the least.
The wait has ended. The 2021 NFL Draft kicked off on Thursday night, and fans of the Las Vegas Raiders had to wait quite some time for the team to make their pick. Finally, at pick No. 17, the Silver and Black selected Alabama offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood, which was a surprising pick.
Heading into the first round, the Raiders certainly had holes to fill on both sides of the ball, and they filled a big one with this selection. Holding only one first-round selection for the first time in Mike Mayock’s run as the general manager, Las Vegas could not afford to miss on this pick, and the selection of Leatherwood shocked the set of ESPN’s coverage of the Draft.
Raiders may have reached at No. 17 overall
Alex Leatherwood is not a bad player by any means, in fact, he was a key along the offensive line for an Alabama team that won a national title this past season. The problem with this pick is that the Raiders needed a right tackle to come in and start right away, and with Christian Darrisaw and Teven Jenkins on the board, you would think they would have been the pick.
The last two NFL Drafts, the combination of Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden have reached on players and based on his ranking, this has to be considered one as well. Hopefully, he rounds into a quality player for the Raiders, but to say I saw this one coming would be an absolute lie.
The Las Vegas Raiders are done for the night, barring a trade back into the first round, but they really do not have much draft capital to do so. Las Vegas will pick again at No. 48 in the second round, and they could very well select an offensive lineman with that selection as well.