How did NFL.com's re-draft exercise shake out for Raiders?
By Levi Dombro
Where did the current Raiders end up?
Obviously, in this scenario, the Raiders do not retain any of their players, so they end up elsewhere. Part of this scenario is great because the team is guaranteed seven elite players, but seeing Raiders in other uniforms would not sit right. Here’s where they ended up:
1. Maxx Crosby – Houston Texans (Round 1, Pick 27)
Seeing Maxx in Texans colors may not hurt as badly as certain other colors, but it still leaves a sick feeling though it is a hypothetical. Crosby being a first-round pick makes sense, and he is the fourth edge rusher off the board behind Myles Garrett, Micah Parsons and T.J. Watt. Notably, he is drafted ahead of players like Nick Bosa and Travis Kelce, and he is the first Raider off the board.
2. Davante Adams – San Francisco 49ers (Round 1, Pick 31)
Even though Adams is on the back end of his career, he is still considered among the best in the NFL. He is the sixth receiver selected in this mock draft, trailing Tyreek Hill, Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, A.J. Brown, and Ja’Marr Chase, all of whom are a bit younger than he is. Reuter says that he is “still an elite receiver who can lift a team with his presence” and was chosen ahead of younger options like Brandon Aiyuk and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
3. Christian Wilkins – Los Angeles Chargers (Round 3, Pick 69)
Before we get to see Wilkins in a Raiders uniform, he ends up with the Bolts in this re-draft. Wilkins is obviously a powerful and versatile interior defender who causes matchup problems and would help any defense that he is a part of. He is selected just ahead of edge rushers Trey Hendrickson and Josh Allen, and ahead of fellow defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, making him the third Raider off the board.
4. Kolton Miller – Miami Dolphins (Round 5, Pick 151)
The trend continues of Kolton Miller finally beginning to get his flowers as a tackle. He is not the youngest player in the league anymore but he is a veteran with, ideally, many years left to play at a high level. He was taken ahead of talented players like DeVonta Smith, Gregory Rousseau, and Jonathan Taylor. He is now the fourth Raider off the board.
5. Brock Bowers – Indianapolis Colts (Round 7, Pick 205)
The rookie comes off the board just one selection after the Raiders took Jaire Alexander with the 205th pick. It would have been nice to see the team reunite with their young tight end prospect, but the hypothetical Raiders needed someone to anchor their secondary. It is nice to see Bowers considered a vital piece of any team in the NFL’s future, and this should put to rest the notion that he was a careless draft selection by Las Vegas. He was drafted ahead of T.J. Hockenson and was the fifth and final selection among current Raiders.
It's nice to see such a variety of Raiders selected by other teams in this scenario. It’s not every year that there are five Raiders players on the roster who are considered pivotal for an NFL team to build around. What’s even better is that although these are the five stars of the roster, the team has a plethora of other very valuable pieces at each level of both the offense and defense.