The Raiders’ first draft under coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek is in the books.
Here are three takeaways from the 11-player class they assembled:
1. Prioritizing athleticism
Carroll and Spytek have long track records of emphasizing athletic traits among their draft prospects. No surprise that their first draft together produced one of the most athletic groups in the NFL.
Seven of their draftees are considered “elite” athletes based on their relative athletic scores. RAS uses data from the NFL scouting combine and pro days — such as a player’s height, weight and wingspan, plus the marks he produced in performance tests like the vertical jump, 20-yard shuttle, three-cone drill and 40-yard dash — to come up with an aggregate number compares players to to their positional peers.
The scale ranges from 1 to 10, and the Raiders were tied with the Chargers for the most players (seven) with scores of 8 or higher. Six Raiders draftees had scores of 9 or higher, including Iowa State cornerback Darien Porter (9.9) and Tennessee wide receiver Dont’e Thornton at 9.85.
That does not include Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, who did not test at the combine. The No. 6 overall pick likely would have been among the elite tier.
Overall, the Raiders’ draft class ranked 12th in the NFL in RAS, 10 spots higher than last year’s class.
The infusion of athletic ability even caught the eye of Raiders owner Mark Davis, who was in the club’s draft room and immediately pointed out that the selection of Thonton, a 6-foot-5-inch receiver with explosive athletic ability, would have made his father proud.
“Mark joked that was the Al Davis pick of this draft, the height, weight, speed, raw traits, athleticism, speed,” Raiders director of college scouting Brandon Yeargan said.
2. New-look receiver room
Of the Raiders’ veteran wide receivers, only Jakobi Meyers (87) and Tre Tucker (47) caught a significant number of passes last year.
Needless to say, it’s a room that needed upgrading, especially with Meyers going into the last year of his contract.
The Raiders hope they accomplished that objective with the addition of TCU’s Jack Bech, Tennessee’s Thornton and Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott, whom the Raiders are listing as an athlete/wide receiver.
It’s a group of contrasts to be sure, with all three players adding a unique flavor.
Bech is a big, physical receiver in the mold of Rams standout Puka Nacua and can line up all over the field.
“He can do everything,” Carroll said. “He’s really physical, he’s tough as you get as a receiver. He’ll block like crazy. We’ll find his spot for him, but we see him as versatile, and we’re counting on him to do a number of things.”
The Raiders have time to develop Thornton into a well-rounded receiver, but right off the bat, he provides the Raiders with the tall, explosive, downfield threat they have been lacking.
“You watch his target tape, I think it’s pretty impressive. And we think he hasn’t hit his ceiling yet,” Yeargan said. “We think he can still refine and improve under our coaches, but he definitely has physical traits that are outstanding.”
Mellott is a prospect some evaluators have compared to former Patriots great Julian Edelman. The Super Bowl 53 MVP was a college quarterback at Kent State before being drafted by the Patriots, who converted him into a jack-of-all-trades weapon who excelled in the return game, as a receiver and occasionally as a ball carrier.
Mellott shares a similar physical and athletic profile to Edelman. If he can develop as a pass catcher and route runner, the Raiders could be on to something.
“He’s a unique guy,” Yeargan said. “His testing numbers were through the roof, 4.41 40, really high vertical jump. His testing was outstanding.”
3. Beefed-up line
Spytek made it clear throughout the draft process that he prefers to build through the trenches.
He stayed true to his word by using back-to-back picks in the third round Friday to add Texas Tech offensive lineman Caleb Rogers and William & Mary offensive tackle Charles Grant. He then picked up defensive tackles Tonka Hemingway from South Carolina and JJ Pegues from Ole Miss on back-to-back picks in the fourth and sixth rounds, respectively, on Saturday.
The Raiders are essentially set with their starting offensive line — tackles Kolton Miller and DJ Glaze, center Jackson Powers-Johnson and the three-man competition among Dylan Parham, Alex Cappa and Jordan Meredith for the two guard spots. So for now, Grant and Rodgers are considered developmental prospects.
How long that remains the case, at least for Grant, could depend on how the Raiders proceed with Miller, who is skipping voluntary workouts while seeking a new contract.
According to a person with knowledge of the situation, the club and Miller have not started contact talks. That could signal that Carroll and Spytek want to use this season to decide whether or not they wish to extend the relationship.
The development of Grant could expedite that decision. He primarily played left tackle in college and could be in line to replace Miller.
The additions of Hemingway and Pegues set up a competitive battle for playing time on the defensive line. Christian Wilkins, Adam Butler and Jonah Laulu are set in their roles, but it will be a spirited competition among Hemingway, Pegues, Zach Carter, Leki Fotu and Matthew Butler for rotational roles.
That’s standard practice for Carroll, who is a stickler for creating competition. Among his draft mandates to Spytek and the Raiders’ scouting department was to find as many competitively wired prospects as possible.
“There’s not going to be a place for you in this organization and this team if you aren’t willing to go out there and lay it on the line all the time. You’ll get weeded out pretty quick,” Spytek said. “As a personnel guy and with our scouts, we got to find the right kind of mentality to bring that to life.”
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at [email protected]. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.
