The Las Vegas Raiders traded up once again in the 2021 NFL Draft, this time taking Missouri safety Tyree Gillespie with pick No. 143 overall.
The Las Vegas Raiders have now traded up for the second day in a row to take, another safety. The trade that went down had Las Vegas grabbing the No. 143 pick in exchange for the 162nd and 200th.
Being already heavy at the position after selecting Trevon Moehrig in the second round and Divine Deablo in the third, it seemed the team would be done addressing the safety position. But this was not the case, as the Raiders traded up to draft Tyree Gillespie out of Missouri.
Gillespie provides decent size at the safety position and provides above-average burst. He may not be the fastest safety, but he makes big-time plays and is always a threat to make a play happen out of thin air.
He also is a hard-hitting safety who excels in his reads and will look to provide even more depth at the safety position this year.
Raiders building up the secondary
The Raiders do have many needs here, and a cornerback or maybe an interior lineman would have been a safer choice. Nevertheless, the pick makes sense as the Raiders have added defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, famous for his days coaching the “Legion of Boom” in Seattle, Bradley is a big-time proponent of building up the secondary.
With Bradley bringing over defensive backs coach Ron Milus with him from the Chargers, it seems the secondary being addressed was key for the team in the latter half of the draft.
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Although Las Vegas could have addressed many needs here, Jonathan Abram is on the hot seat and Jeff Heath is nothing to write home about. So this makes sense in terms of building depth at the secondary position. Although it may not have been the biggest need, it also is not the worst pick the franchise could have made.