Raiders Draft Picks: Where are they now? (Reggie McKenzie Edition)

2017

Gareon Conley (1st/24th Overall)

While Conley definitely had his moments as a Raider, his career overall was disappointing. After only playing in two games as a rookie, he played one full season for the Raiders before being traded to the Texans in 2019 for a third-round pick. He was placed on injured reserve by the Texans in 2020 and never appeared in an NFL game again. He currently plays for the DC Defenders of the United Football League. 

Obi Melifonwu (2nd/56th Overall)

Melifonwu had another disappointing NFL career. He and Conley were supposed to be a dominant tandem of the defensive backs for years to come, but his career with the Raiders lasted five games. He was waived and picked up by the Patriots the following season where he appeared in two games before being released. He played in the USFL and the XFL but was released in 2023 and has not played since.

Eddie Vanderdoes (3rd/88th Overall)

Here is yet another player in this draft class who underperformed. After a rookie season in which he started 13 of the 16 games, Vanderdoes tore his ACL in the season finale and never recovered from his injury. He was waived in 2019 and signed to the Texans, where he appeared in three games in 2019 before opting out of the 2020 COVID season. He was last seen as a training camp body for the 49ers in 2021 but has not played football since. 

David Sharpe (3rd/129th Overall)

David Sharpe is one of the two best players in this draft class. He appeared in 13 games for the Raiders in his first season and a half before he was waived by the Raiders and claimed by the Texans. After two games with the Texans, he re-signed with the Raiders and played nine games in 2019. Since then, he has bounced around teams, and he currently plays for the Houston Texans. He has played in 45 career NFL games and started six. 

Marquel Lee (5th/168th Overall)

Lee is the other best player in this draft, as he had a solid NFL career, and definitely outperformed his projections as a fifth-rounder. He was the Day 1 starter as a rookie and played three years for the Oakland Raiders before being waived and signing with the Bills. He never appeared in a game for Buffalo and returned to the Raiders, this time in Las Vegas, where he played in 11 games in 2021. He currently plays for the Arlington Renegades of the UFL. 

Shalom Luani (7th/221st Overall)

While Luani actually appeared in all 16 games as a rookie, it was primarily on special teams, and he only recorded 18 tackles. He had one-year stints with both Seattle and the Los Angeles Chargers in 2018 and 2019 but failed to ever play in an NFL game after that. He played in the USFL and was drafted in the UFL Dispersal Draft but was released a few months ago.  

Jylan Ware (7th/231st Overall), Elijah Hood (7th/242nd Overall)

Not much can be said about either of these players. Ware and Hood both played in one NFL game for the Raiders. Neither had any success making other NFL rosters either. Hood last played for the Los Angeles Wildcats of the XFL in 2020 before the league was terminated.  

Treyvon Hester (7th/244th Overall)

Hester did play in 14 games as a rookie for the Oakland Raiders, collecting 19 tackles and a forced fumble. He played in double-digit games in each of his three seasons, playing one-year stints for the Eagles and Redskins. He played in the XFL for the Seattle Sea Dragons briefly but was released in early 2023. 

Takeaways: Once again, Reggie McKenzie produced an absolutely abysmal draft class. When you are deciding between David Sharpe and Marquel Lee as the group’s best player, you have gone drastically off course as a franchise. This class is an F-, or whatever the lowest grade you can give a draft is.