Power ranking each of the past 20 Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders first-round picks

The Raiders franchise has had more misses than hits when it comes to their last 20 first-round draft picks.
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Power ranking each of the past 20 Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders first-round picks

  • No. 2. Josh Jacobs: 24th overall, 2019 NFL Draft

The second of three first-round picks of the Raiders back in 2019, Josh Jacobs would go on to be the best draft pick ever made by Mike Mayock on Day 1 of the NFL Draft. During a time when Mayock just could not get it right in the first round, Jacobs was a tremendous selection and has gone on to become one of the best young running backs in the league.

Last season, Jacobs dominated the NFL landscape, leading the league in rushing and all-purpose yards, while putting together the best season we have seen from a Raiders running back since Marcus Allen back in 1983. He is on pace to rewrite the Raiders record book at the position if the team can sign him to a new contract this offseason, but like so many greats before him, he could be gone in his prime.

If he stays with the Raiders, he would be one of the best running backs to ever put on the Silver and Black.

  • No. 1. Khalil Mack: 5th overall, 2014 NFL Draft

There is no doubt in anybody's mind who follows the Raiders that Khalil Mack is the best first-round pick the team has made across their last 20 selections. Coming from the University of Buffalo, a school that does not produce elite NFL talent, Mack took the NFL by storm as a rookie and would go on to become one of the better defensive players of his generation.

After finishing third for the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honor in 2014 behind Aaron Donald and CJ Mosley, Mack was named first-team All-Pro the following season. In 2016, he would continue his rise to the top of the NFL mountain, as he was named the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year, and in 2017, he was named to his third straight Pro Bowl.

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Unfortunately, after holding out the following offseason, Mack was traded by Jon Gruden to the Chicago Bears for a host of draft picks. That ended a career with the franchise that should have made him an all-time great, and for those who got to watch him in his prime, he will forever be one of the best defensive talents in Raiders history.