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Get ready, Las Vegas. The Raiders are here and could be one of the most aggressive teams in the 2020 NFL Draft.
In his first draft as an NFL general manager, Mike Mayock quickly established the framework for the type of player he prefers to build his organization around.
The Las Vegas Raiders’ first draft with Mayock and Jon Gruden produced several players who had excellent rookie seasons (most notably running back Josh Jacobs) and should serve as the team’s foundation as they continue to build their roster).
Las Vegas was aggressive in free agency, especially at linebacker, but has plenty of holes to fill in an increasingly-tough AFC landscape. Will Mayock pull the trigger on a long-term replacement for Derek Carr in the first round? It’s time to find out with my non-negotiable, 100-percent accurate Las Vegas Raiders mock draft.
1st round
Jeffrey Okudah
CB, Buckeyes
The plan for improving the Raiders’ secondary this offseason didn’t exactly go as planned for Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden. The team watched Byron Jones head to Miami and its free-agent deal with Eli Apple fell through because of medical concerns.
All of this points to Las Vegas being aggressive in upgrading the back end of its defense, which is how it ends up with consensus top cornerback prospect Jeffrey Okudah in this mock. For the record, I don’t see Okudah falling this far, but I do see the Raiders (perhaps with the Panthers at No. 7) in order to get their man.
Okudah’s technique, speed and size make it easy to see why he’s considered the top prospect in the class at his position. Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther loves corners with great footwork who are aggressive in press at the line of coverage, and Okudah is exactly that type of player.
Wide receiver will certainly be a consideration here (Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb, Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy), but ultimately I think the Raiders’ failure to land top-flight secondary helps make Okudah the top target on their draft board.
Ross Blacklock
DT, Horned Frogs
This pick will be one of the turning points of the draft. If the Raiders do go wide receiver with their first pick, they could select a corner like Utah’s Jaylon Johnson or TCU’s Jeff Gladney here. There’s also the quarterback wild card pick of Utah State’s Jordan Love.
Ultimately, though, I think Las Vegas continues to build the defense with dynamic defensive tackle Ross Blacklock.
Blacklock is one of my favorite players in the class and possesses great quick-twitch rush ability to pair with excellent power. He seems like one of those old-school type players that Gruden would absolutely love to add to the roster, often blowing up double-teams out of a four-point stance.
I think Mayock could recognize that wide receiver isn’t necessarily as urgent of a first-round need in a historically deep class. As a result, they may decide to trade back from this spot for a team looking to move up (perhaps Miami and its treasure chest of draft capital) for a quarterback or offensive tackle.