The honeymoon period for Jon Gruden and Raider fans felt like it came to an end last night.
Gruden was handed a few mulligans in free agency with limited resources, but Thursday night was the first round of the draft and the Raiders needed to hit a home run with their first pick.
Maybe they did, but the general consensus right now is that leaving the first round with offensive tackle Kolton Miller was a major buzzkill.
The truth is, Miller may very well be the best offensive tackle in the draft and grading the draft now isn’t fair to anyone involved.
Remember when the Cowboys were mocked for drafting Travis Frederick in the first round in 2013?
Not saying Miller is going to be great – just that we don’t know yet.
With all that said, a few thoughts on the Raiders opening round of the 2018 draft…
1 – Kolton Miller is built like an oak tree. He feels like an Al Davis pick with all the physical tools to be elite, but hasn’t consistently shown it on the field.
At the very least, he’s capable of being the best offensive tackle in the draft.
.@RAIDERS @KoltonMiller go to the trenches to bring in the “Gru-Dogg” era. Care meet MILLER Miller meet Carr. #BaldyBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/dxB5pK6oM5
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) April 27, 2018
2 – The addition of Martavius Bryant was another decision Davis would have applauded. Bryant has talent on par with some of the best wide receivers in the NFL and after running a 4.27 forty-yard dash a year ago, it feels like Gruden really is channeling his inner Al.
3 – It isn’t ideal to give a third-round pick for an unproven player entering a contract year, but with Bryant preparing to hit free agency, motivation shouldn’t be an issue.
One thing to keep an eye on though. How will Bryant respond if he isn’t getting the ball as much as Amari Cooper and Jordy Nelson? That’s his money they’d be messing with – or so he might think.
4 – The Raiders didn’t get a lot from Arizona for the 10th pick, but that’s probably because they didn’t have a lot of leverage. There wasn’t a player available to command leverage.
It would have been interesting, albeit risky, if they had drafted Josh Rosen and offered him to the highest bidder for the remainder of the first round.
Maybe could have gotten a little more in return?
5 – It turns out the coin flip with San Francisco probably cost the Raiders an opportunity to draft Mike McGlinchey – but in a roundabout way it may have rewarded them Martavius Bryant.
Still should have let someone other than Rod Woodson flip the coin!
twitter: @raidersbeat
I’m not scout, but watching his tape it looks like a fast edge rusher, with a decent swim move, will walk right around this big man. I think he’ll be great for the run game (which is probably 90% of why Gruden likes him), but it feels like he might be a liability against better edge rushers……. Bosa, Miller, Chubb, etc..
All the more reason why he should be a right tackle.
I like it. We got Bryant + Miller + additional 4the round pick for moving 5 spots back once the niners took our first choice. Also, Gruden likes to spread the football to multiple receivers – I remember our Gannon days we would always talk about how Gannon was #1 in NFL with different receivers with receptions each game, and that worked out pretty well for us.
Hmm.. Umm.. Dammit. Geez this Miller guy better blossom into a top tier tackle being the #1 pick for the Nation! Idk though cuz I agree w/ what Mike up above says, “..a fast edge rusher, with a decent swim move, will walk right around this big man.”
Shoot aye.. I woulda picked Edmunds to give Mack a defensive rushing P.O.C.! (partner in crime)
Ugh, I’m disgusted with this move. Bittersweet in return to pick up M.Bryant. We better shine like a diamond in the next few rounds fellas cuz I’m distraught at the moment. Sheez!
..have a good 1 fellow Nation!
My question is why didn’t they hold Arizona hostage with the 10th pick? Could have gotten better than a 3rd and 5th round pick. The weakest part of our team is defense and they picked a late second round OT. I hope Miller makes me eat my words but could have upgraded the defense a little bit more.
Well, it was not a 10th round spot for a 3rd round and 5th round. It was a 10th round spot to move down only 5 – so it is was a 10th for a 15th AND a 3rd and 5th round… that’s not so bad — sorry for saying “10th round” so many times b-)
I love how everyone is an expert. Oh, he’s a late 2nd round pick…..Everything i saw had the Pats taking Miller wit their 1st pick. What would people have said then??? Pats outsmarted us… Got their replacement for Solder. Tackle is our top need, especially in our division and with Penn’s health in issue. McGlinchey gone so we got the next best guy. As for Bryant, no receiver in this draft is better than him. Period. Whether its a contract year or not, that’s a good problem to have. And its insurance if Cooper’s contract demands are excessive. I for 1 applaud the moves and the pick and look forward to strengthing our defense in these middle rounds.
Gordon,
Please reread my post, never said 10th round. It was the 10th pick for only a 3rd and 5th round pick.