The Las Vegas Raiders have found very little value in the later rounds of the NFL Draft in recent years. Players like Maxx Crosby, Nate Hobbs and Hunter Renfrow all stick out like sore thumbs because of their impact, but two of these players are not even on the team anymore.
Every year, it seems like a late-round prospect gets plenty of hype throughout the Raiders' offseason program and training camp, and they're able to carry that momentum into the team's preseason games. Very seldom, however, has that success translated to the regular season.
A recent example of this is defensive tackle Nesta Jade Silvera, whom the Raiders selected in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He had several strong preseasons with the team and garnered plenty of attention, and at 6-foot-2 and 315 pounds, he had the proper size to play the position.
Chargers sign former Raiders draft pick Nesta Jade Silvera
Unfortunately, he played in just two games during his rookie season and nine total during his two-year stint with the Raiders. He was waived in October of 2024 by new general manager Tom Telesco after recording just 10 career tackles in 94 defensive snaps.
On Monday, Las Vegas' AFC West rival Los Angeles Chargers, announced that they had signed Silvera and released another defensive lineman to make room. While talented and certainly capable, Raider Nation knows that this is a risk most likely destined to fail.
After departing from the Raiders, Silvera had brief stints with the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers. He never made the active roster for either team, sitting on the practice squad for the 49ers and only spending the offseason with the Packers.
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While not necessarily loaded with high-end talent anymore, the Chargers' defensive front is fairly deep. This means that Silvera will have a difficult hill to climb as he attempts to make his fourth NFL roster in under one year.
Silvera was fairly productive in college in five years at Miami and Arizona State, but he has not been able to make the same impact at the NFL level. It is possible that he just needs to fall in with the right coaching staff, but that will be for the Chargers to sort out.
If he is able to make the team despite his late arrival, then the Raiders will see him in Week 2 on Monday Night Football at Allegiant Stadium. If not, they'll see him on the waiver wire with a decision to make about potentially giving him another chance under a new staff.