Power ranking each of the past 20 Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders first-round picks
- No. 16. Clelin Ferrell: 4th overall, 2019 NFL Draft
Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden went into the 2019 NFL Draft with incredible draft capital, as they held three first-round picks that April. The first selection came at No. 4 overall, and one of their biggest needs was an edge rusher, this after the team traded away Khalil Mack following the 2017 NFL season and had no real answer for his loss in 2018.
Despite Josh Allen from Kentucky being one of the best edge rushers in the draft, and still available at No. 4, the Raiders shocked the world once again by selecting Clelin Ferrell from Clemson at No. 4. Ferrell was a solid player for the Tigers, but was nowhere close to being a top-5 pick, and he showed that at the NFL level, as he racked up only ten sacks in four seasons, and was released by the team this offseason.
- No. 15. Henry Ruggs III: 12th overall, 2020 NFL Draft
What can we say about the five-player haul the Raiders got during the 2019 and 2020 NFL Drafts? Despite the team holding five first-round picks across those two drafts, the only player of substance to come out of it was Josh Jacobs, but we will get to him later on in this piece.
At pick No. 12 overall, the Raiders selected Alabama speedster Henry Ruggs III, a pick that would have made late owner Al Davis very happy. Unfortunately, as Ruggs was finally hitting his stride at the NFL level, and looking like a potential superstar wideout, a drunk-driving accident changed his life in the worst way, and he is now looking at three-to-ten years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of DUI resulting in death.