For weeks, the popular pick to the Raiders at no. 6 in the draft has been Boise State running Ashton Jeanty. But the closer we get to the draft, the more it sounds like Jeanty isn’t going to be wearing Silver & Black when the season kicks off in September.
Additionally, it doesn’t sound like Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders is going to get a first-round ticket to Las Vegas, either.
So who do the Raiders have their eyes on with the sixth pick?
For the second day in a row, it’s an offensive lineman that hasn’t gotten a lot of headlines in recent weeks that seems to be getting some momentum as player the Raiders could take with the no. 6 pick.
Just as ESPN’s Adam Schefter said earlier in the week, league insider Tony Pauline thinks Missouri offensive tackle Armand Membou is player firmly on the Raiders’ radar in the first round.
“Just about everyone has mocked running back Ashton Jeanty to the Las Vegas Raiders at pick No. 6. Yet I’m told the team will seriously consider Missouri offensive tackle Armand Membou with that choice,” Pauline said.
“With John Spytek being the team’s new general manager and a need to upgrade the offensive line, sources tell me Spytek would lean towards Membou considering the success he had with Tristan Wirfs in Tampa Bay. Many I’ve spoken with feel that Membou will be the first offensive lineman selected in the draft, ahead of Will Campbell of LSU.”
Schefter’s comments on The Rush with Maxx Crosby this week were nearly identical on the Raiders interest in Membou.
“I know a lot of people think the Raiders are going to take a running back in round one,” Schefter said. “And they might, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they wound up going with a guy like [Armand] Membou, the offensive tackle, instead, over a running back.”
Just another player to keep an eye on with the draft now 8 days away.
x: @raidersbeat
It looks like we can’t help but come out of this spot with a good player, and with the holes we have, it should be a man who is on the field for the first snap. I feel pretty strongly that someone is going to jump ahead of us, but we should end up with the best player at his position in this draft. I’m saying this as if i haven’t been watching these drafts for forty years, but I have, so it will be nail biting until the name is announced.
The draft gurus say there are several running backs this draft that show lots of promise. Offensive linemen are just as important to both the running game and passing. Additionally Boise State faces mediocre opponents and in my humble opinion Jeanty may be over rated.
Assuming Membou is a really good OT prospect, I’d much rather see the Raiders take him over Jeanty just from a positional value aspect. The number of RBs taken in the top 10 that succeed consistently without a favorable situation around them AND continue to do so beyond their rookie deal is a lot shorter than quality offensive tackles. And the gap between a replacement level RB and a star RB is also narrower than for OTs. From a team building perspective, a potential Tristan Wirfs is just a safer and more valuable proposition than recent top 10 backs like Robinson, Gibbs, etc.
Even top backs on their second deals like Saquon or Josh Jacobs had down years when their surrounding situation wasn’t real good.
Yep, doesn’t make sense to pick a running back so high and expect success with that offensive line.
Jeanty at 6. 2660 yards!