Predicting what Jon Gruden is going to do is always a tall task (can Gruden himself even do it?), but it is a safe assumption that he is going to take a wide receiver early in the draft.
The consensus seems to be that the Raiders will draft either CeeDee Lamb or Jerry Jeudy, but which player would be the best fit for Gruden’s offense?
According to one league insider, the answer to that question, at least from a schematic standpoint, is Jeudy.
“The Niners could take a left tackle if one falls to them, but count them with the Raiders as teams that could be in play to pull the first receiver off the board,” Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer wrote on Monday. “A couple teams mentioned to me that Jon Gruden is looking for, specifically, a ‘Z’ receiver and Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy is the prototype for that even if CeeDee Lamb’s a little more of the gritty type that Gruden likes.”
Jeudy is very similar in his physical build and skill set to Antonio Brown and we know Gruden loves Brown as a player. The Alabama receiver is also the most polished route-runner in the draft and would/should instantly become a 1,000-yard receiver in Gruden’s offense.
So while Lamb has been the popular connection to the Raiders at pick 12, the best fit for Gruden’s offense might actually be Jeudy – which would make at least one person very happy.
Assuming the Raiders do draft a wide receiver with pick 12, who in the building is going to stop Gruden from taking another wide receiver with pick 19?
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