In honor of the Oakland Raiders’ rookie minicamp being held today, we are going to look at what to expect from their rookie class: Player likely to make most minicamp headlines: Maurice Hurst He’s probably the most talented player the Raiders took. He fell all the way to No. 140, because of a heart issue
Raiders’ draft-pick expectations
Just not sure we got an impact player in this draft. If your prediction is right, and Nick Nelson is the best pick from this draft.. I dont see how this draft class would be considered a success. And now every time I see Derwin James or Minkah Fitzpatrick light it up, Im going to cringe, knowing we passed on them.
Ok, lets look at the expectations for draft picks before camp.
OT Miller – Picked at 15, he should be our starting LT starting now.
DT Hall – Picked at 57, he should be a starter on the D line almost immediately.
OT Parker – Picked at 65, he should be our starting RT by the start of regular season. The only reason for him not to be is if Miller or Penn is our RT.
DE Key – Picked at 87, a top 25 talent, he should be part of an impact D line rotation from the outset. Learning from one of the best in Mack.
CB Nelson – Picked at 110, he should fight for the top backup and nickel spot. If this turns out like other CBs we have taken recently, he might be on the pup list to start and possibly miss most of the season with injuries.
DT Hurst – Picked at 140, another top 50 talent, he should push for a starting job right away and at a minimum be part of the D line rotation.
P Townsend – Picked at 173, he should be our punter for the next 10-15 years.
ILB Victor – Picked at 216, he should battle for ST duty and maybe even be a future backup or starter at MLB. At a minimum be a PS member and work to get back on the active roster.
WR Ateman – Picked at 228, battle for ST duty and show he could be a future red zone threat. Another PS candidate at a minimum.
Yes I do expect a lot from all of our draft picks. We all should.
It makes no difference at this point if we like the picks or not, we have these players and this is what I expect from them.
You know, Bill, I get the feeling that Key will not have the off field issues that everyone is afraid he will have. I got no facts or evidence to back it up, just a feeling. Hopefully, along with that come him being in his 2016 iteration. I think Hurst will be the steal of the draft–as do you. I would say, though, that Miller has the most pressure on him given where he was taken and who was available when he was taken.
Oh, and here’s a thought: Since the Raiders (read “Gruden”) has no qualms about adding players with some off field questions, why not just go get Vontaze Burfict? He’s suspended for the first four games for PED use. Maybe Gruden is not joking about going back to 1998 by way of 1970’s!!