Raiders 2022 NFL draft: Undrafted free agents pile up in Las Vegas
The undrafted free agents phase has begun, and the Raiders made their presence known.
With the 2022 NFL draft now at its end, it’s time for the 8th round: The undrafted free agents, where the Raiders have been active.
As of Saturday night, Las Vegas has added 12 UDFAs to their roster, with five on the offensive side and seven helping the defense. They are as followed:
- Chase Garbers, QB, California
- Justin Hall, WR, Ball State
- Tre Turner, WR, Virginia Tech
- Cole Fotheringham, TE, Utah
- Bamidele Olaseni, OL, Utah
- Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, DL, Notre Dame
- Darien Butler, LB, Arizona State
- Zach VanValkenburg, LB, Iowa
- Sam Webb, CB, Missouri Western
- Qwynnterrio Cole, DB, Louisville
- Bryce Cosby, S, Ball State
- Isaiah Pola-Mao, S, USC
With the latest additions, the Silver and Black have 3 available roster spots remaining, currently being at 87 of the maximum 90.
Undrafted free agents are important too for the Raiders
The term “undrafted free agent” may not attract some of Raider Nation, but history has continuously shown gems are scattered in this pool of players. If you’ve done your homework as a scout, you can add treasure to the team, and adding talent is never a bad thing – Much more in the powerhouse AFC West.
One thing about the 2022 NFL draft is it was deep. So deep, that it pushed players to be undrafted who would likely be drafted most years. Tre Turner, who originally planned on signing with the Vikings before Las Vegas offered more guaranteed money, is a prime example of that.
At the NFL combine, Turner ran a 4.51 40-time, proving he has some juice. Combine this with his natural footwork and catching ability, and you get a player that was ranked as high as 189 overall, per ESPN.
In recent years, the Raiders have found success in the UDFA market, most notably with Jalen Richard and ’21 captain Alec Ingold. The Raiders’ current starting center, Andre James, also went undrafted.