Raiders treasure chest of first-round picks has turned into Fool’s Gold

The Raiders had five first-round draft picks in 2019 and 2020 combined, and it appears all of them may not earn a second contract.

Going into their final NFL Draft as the Oakland Raiders, the Silver and Black held three first-round draft picks. Starting with pick No. 4 overall, the pick they got by being one of the worst teams in the NFL in 2018, Oakland would have three kicks at the can in the first round, and four picks in the top-40 selections that year.

The 2019 NFL Draft was supposed to be the draft that kicked off a new era of Raiders football, as Jon Gruden returned in 2018 and made some wholesale changes. Those changes included trading away Pro Bowl players in Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper, two players who brought the Raiders back first-round picks.

Coming off a four-win season in Gruden’s return to the sidelines, it was clear changes needed to be made, and the organization brought in a draft expert in Mike Mayock as general manager to help Gruden bring in new talent. The two would have a so-called 51-to-49 split in terms of decision making, with $100 million head coach Gruden getting the final say, and it has been atrocious, to say the least.

As we inch closer to another bad season for the Silver and Black, we look at these five first-round picks, and how they have shaped another era of losing for the Raiders.