Raiders 2023 7-round NFL Mock Draft: What if Aaron Rodgers arrives?

Raiders 2023 7-round NFL Mock Draft: What if Aaron Rodgers arrives?

Note that in this mock draft we traded the 70th overall pick for Aaron Rodgers so we jump down to the fourth round and the 109th overall pick where we snag Steve Avila out of TCU. The massive interior offensive lineman played center, right tackle, and most recently left guard for the Horned Frogs.

Avila has the perfect build that you look for in a powerful interior lineman at 6-4 and 330 pounds and he is athletic enough to make blocks at the second level. His strength is his best attribute and we expect him to put up big numbers if he does the bench press at the NFL combine.

He ran a 40 at 5.2 seconds which is in the 62nd percentile for his position group and is respectable enough to play at the NFL level.

His second-best attribute is the nastiness that he brings to the game and that should be a nice change for a Raiders offensive line that looked a bit soft in the interior at times. Scouts rave about his run blocking and intelligence when making reads and calls though there are some potential weaknesses to his game.

Those weaknesses are generally in pass protection where he may struggle against faster pass rushers though he does hold up well against larger defensive linemen. This means he likely won’t play tackle at the NFL level, but the Raiders’ more pressing need is at guard anyway. Avila will need some coaching up in pass protection but his strength and physicality will allow him to contribute right away.