Raiders 2023 7-round Mock Draft: Las Vegas lands a franchise QB
The Raiders double up on linebacker in the fifth round by grabbing Jalen Graham out of Perdue. While Hampton is more of a tweener who can play defensive end or outside linebacker, Graham is a classic inside linebacker with some coverage skills.
Those coverage skills come from a past as a safety as his first two years with the Boilermakers were spent in the defensive backfield. He moved full-time to linebacker in 2021 and has been one of the better players on the Purdue roster. He plays bigger than his listed size at 6-3 and 220lbs and has good speed for his size.
That background as a defensive back allows him to read coverages and track ball carriers in open space.
The Raiders have had mixed success drafting guys that are safety/linebacker hybrids, but he has played linebacker for two seasons so the learning curve should not be so steep. His numbers for his last two seasons are impressive as he racked up 120 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and 3 interceptions.
The scouts have him going anywhere from 4th round to UDFA and he could be a steal for the Raiders at this slot.