The Las Vegas Raiders improved the interior of their offensive line last night, and now they hope to have done the same on defense.
With the #126 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Las Vegas Raiders have selected defensive tackle Neil Farrell Jr from LSU.
This continues the Raiders’ push to beef up the middle of their defensive line and make sure their run defense continues to improve in 2022.
So the question is, did the Raiders get the pick right?
The purpose of this pick seems clear: the Raiders wanted to add another run defender, and it really doesn’t get any better than Farrell Jr.
He is not a great athlete by any means, but at 6’4 and 339 lbs, he is hard to move in the trenches, and ironically, the Pro Football Draft guide compared him to fellow Raiders, DT Jonathan Hankins.
Farrell Jr. had the second-best run defense grade in 2021 among all defensive tackles with 89.9. Not ideal length, but analysts have complemented his strong hands at the point of attack.
In terms of issues, the fact that he tested as basically a zero athlete could be a bit of concern. From reading, it seems Farrell won many of his reps in college with a quick first step that did not translate in his testing.
Overall, Farrell Jr seems to know exactly what he is good at and will overwhelm guards and centers with his size. And that is about all you can ask from a rotational nose tackle, so the Raiders got precisely what they wanted. Put Farrell Jr in the A-gap or B-gap and let him wreck shop in the run game.
2022 NFL Draft: Did the Las Vegas Raiders get it right at No. 122?
Power is the theme of the Las Vegas Raiders 2022 NFL Draft thus far as they moved up to draft Georgia running back Zamir White.
Las Vegas made a concerted effort to get better along the defensive line this offseason, and Farrell joins a pretty deep group on the interior. Defensive tackle was not a major need, but he is a championship-caliber player, and I believe will help this team in some capacity as a rookie.