Most mock drafts have the Las Vegas Raiders focusing on their top needs coming into the 2024 season. Those needs are, in no particular order, quarterback, safety, cornerback, offensive tackle, and defensive tackle.
While it makes sense to draft solely on need, sometimes it's fun to focus on the best player available rather than looking to fill a hole on the roster.
This approach works especially in the NFL because of how quickly things can change period a major roster need could become a strength through the avenues of free agency or even an undrafted player, and a position that you thought was a strength becomes a need due to player struggles or injury.
We won't pretend that this mock is based on any insider knowledge of what the Raiders want to do or some prescience about their approach, it's just a more fun way to go through a mock draft.
The way we conducted this mock draft was through Pro Football Network's simulator and we simply selected the best player that they had listed in their rankings in each round. The only caveat was that we would not double up on positions even though teams have a tendency to do that if they are trying really hard to fill a need.
These are the rankings before the NFL Combine which kicks off on February 26th so they are sure to change as players either climb or slide down the rankings based on their performances in Indianapolis.
So with those rules in place, let’s jump in to our “best player available” mock draft ahead of the NFL Draft combine.