Las Vegas Raiders 2023 NFL Draft: Early Superlatives
By Brad Weiss
Las Vegas Raiders 2023 NFL Draft: Early Superlatives
Favorite Day 3 pick: Christopher Smith II, S, Georgia
After adding four players across the first two days of the 2023 NFL Draft, the Silver and Black went into Rounds 4 through 7 loaded with draft capital. It was draft capital that general manager Dave Ziegler used to move up a few times, including using picks No. 204 and 220 to move up to No. 170 and select Christopher Smith II from Georgia.
Given an A grade from Bleacher Report, the move up for Smith could prove to help solidify the Raiders at the safety position for years to come. The secondary has been a sore spot for this Raiders team for years now, and with Tre'Von Moehrig taking a step back in Year 2 last season, it had more questions this offseason than ever.
Smith was a key cog for a Georgia Bulldogs team that won multiple national titles with him patrolling their defensive backfield. Las Vegas filled a huge void on their defense by going up against getting Smith, a unanimous All-American at Georgia who may not jump off the page athletically, but his resume speaks for itself.