Raiders 2022 NFL Draft: 3 surprise positions Las Vegas may target early

While it seems most reasonable that Dave Ziegler and the Las Vegas Raiders go offensive line with their first selection in the 2022 NFL draft, it isn’t the only position that makes sense for the Silver and Black to target early.

Since taking over as the general manager for the Las Vegas Raiders in January of 2022, Dave Ziegler has shown the NFL world his actions are anything but predictable.

From signing All-Pro edge rusher Chandler Jones and trading Yannick Ngakoue in the process to dishing out $3.5m in efforts of keeping the struggling Brandon Parker around, it seems as if we never know what to expect from the former director of player personnel in New England.

And why should his unpredictability change entering the 2022 NFL draft? After all, both Ziegler and new Raiders’ head coach Josh McDaniels have been vocal with their draft options, ranging from trading up to snagging whoever the best player available is when they’re on the clock.

Overall, the most reasonable assumption is Las Vegas will take an offensive lineman with their first pick, whether that be in the third round or trading up to grab a higher caliber player. This can be concluded from the lack of moves in free agency made to address a bottom-five ranked offensive line from ’21.

That’s not what we’re going to talk about, though (piece on potential offensive linemen found here, if that’s what you came to see).

What we’ll be discussing here are three positions outside of the OL that Dave Ziegler and the Las Vegas Raiders may target with their first pick, that would be more on the unexpected side while not straying from the path of realism.