Raiders 7-round 2023 NFL Mock Draft: Las Vegas trades down in Round 1

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 02: Head coach Josh McDaniels of the Las Vegas Raiders meets with an official in the fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos at Allegiant Stadium on October 02, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 02: Head coach Josh McDaniels of the Las Vegas Raiders meets with an official in the fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos at Allegiant Stadium on October 02, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Getty Images) /
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Sep 25, 2021; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions defensive tackle PJ Mustipher (97) reacts following a sack on Villanova Wildcats quarterback Daniel Smith (not pictured) during the second quarter at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 25, 2021; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions defensive tackle PJ Mustipher (97) reacts following a sack on Villanova Wildcats quarterback Daniel Smith (not pictured) during the second quarter at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports /

Raiders 7-round 2023 NFL Mock Draft: Las Vegas trades down in Round 1

806. . DT. Nittany Lions . PJ Mustipher. 234. player

We round out the 2023 draft class by grabbing defensive tackle PJ Mustipher out of Penn State. Mustipher is your classic run-stuffing defensive tackle who stands at 6-4 and 321lbs so he has plenty of size for the position. As we know the Raiders used a couple picks on defensive tackles last season, but neither player made much of an impact.

After grabbing Bryan Bresee in the first round who projects more as a pass rusher, the Raiders add some bulk to the defensive line to become a bit stouter against the run. The Maryland native played five years for the Nittany Lions and recorded 144 tackles in 46 games including 10.5 tackles for loss.

He did not show much in terms of pass rush ability with just 3 sacks in that span, but that is not what he is on the field for.

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Some of his concerns or potential weaknesses are playing with a lack of leverage and needing to be a bit more violent at the point of attack. We always support grabbing guys with good physical tools and coaching them up at this point in the draft and Mustipher fits that bill and a team need perfectly.