Special Thanks to u/RazorCooter , u/hayvski , and u/twistedlicorice25 for their help in the mock.
**1st Round (2nd Overall) – Will Anderson Jr, EDGE, Alabama**
In this mock the Raiders have the second overall pick and when you pick that high there are two main options in my opinion. The first is to pick the best player available, especially when that player is the top rated player overall. The second is to take a swing on a franchise QB. In this mock that led to our choice between two Crimson Tide players, Will Anderson Jr and Bryce Young. For this mock we decided to add to our defense and take the best player available.
Will Anderson gives the Raiders another high end pass rusher to pair long term with Maxx Crosby. The Raiders have so many holes on defense that adding high end talent needs to be the priority. Anderson has top tier tools with his mix of strength, explosion, and length. He wins primarily with stunts, twists, but has the skill set to win traditional pass rush reps as well. The Raiders need at EDGE is more of a long term one than a short term, but that’ll allow Anderson to ease into the NFL, especially with Chandler Jones going into his age 33 season, and take off in 2024.
**2nd Round (33rd Overall) – Brian Branch, DB, Alabama**
After picking Will Anderson, we wanted to focus on getting a player with more of a clear path to starting reps. That being said, up until he went at pick 32, Bijan Robinson was going to be our pick. However, once he was picked we had a discussion between Jahmyr Gibbs and Brian Branch. In the end, I wanted to improve our secondary and Branch gives us someone who should step in immediately as a starter with the versatility to play multiple spots.
Branch has great coverage instincts, and while he has primarily lined up in the slot, should be able to play multiple positions in the Raiders defense. The only locked-in starters for 2023 are Tre’von Moehrig at FS and Nate Hobbs who has primarily lined up at outside CB this year after playing the slot as a rookie. Branch should be able to find starting reps at box safety and slot corner as a rookie. In addition to his coverage skills, Branch is a dynamic run defender and blitzer who has impressive read and react skills and open field tackling.
We discussed Gibbs at 33 and he made it to 68. What else would you expect us to do? We did think about adding to our OL room with Darnell Wright but the value of Gibbs was too much to pass on. Josh Jacobs is playing out of his mind but is an upcoming free agent. Zamir White was drafted last year in the 4th and has shown flashes but New England has a history of bringing in Day 2 backs to add to the stable.
GIbbs is an explosive runner who thrives on zone runs. His ability to cut and get upfield is an elite trait and he pairs that with a solid receiving profile, both from the backfield and from the slot and good vision and patience. He isn’t the strongest back but projects to be a great partner to the stronger White. The Raiders have lacked a true home run threat at RB these past few seasons and Gibbs gives them that.
**Conclusion**
Yes, we picked all Alabama players and no I’m not sorry. Each of these players were among the best players available at the time of their selection and each adds talent to a roster that needs it after multiple bad drafts of drafts lacking top picks. If the draft continued to the forth we likely would have drafted Darnell Wright or Matthew Bergeron to compete at RT.
Holy shit, people are already doing mock drafts???
My god…
Losers…and I ain’t talking about my Raiders
The bye week is so fun. We just not going to win another game huh? Second pick? 😂
Lol really mimicking an inept GM with these picks.
Will Anderson #2 overall is a flat-out joke. On a roster with Crosby and Chandler Jones (regardless on how you feel about him) to use that high of a pick on someone who would be coming off the bench is just bad.
Especially with guys like Bryan Bresee and Jalen Carter who are probably better prospects and actually fill a huge hole.
All that said, it’s week 5. We’re 8 months away from having any real idea about the draft so this is all just pointless.
Edit: Holy shit I just noticed you have us taking a RB in the 3rd round. Despite us drafton 2! this last year and with a possible extention for Jacobs. It’s like someone drafted having never heard of the Raiders.
5 comments
**2023 NFL Mock Draft Recap – Las Vegas Raiders**
Special Thanks to u/RazorCooter , u/hayvski , and u/twistedlicorice25 for their help in the mock.
**1st Round (2nd Overall) – Will Anderson Jr, EDGE, Alabama**
In this mock the Raiders have the second overall pick and when you pick that high there are two main options in my opinion. The first is to pick the best player available, especially when that player is the top rated player overall. The second is to take a swing on a franchise QB. In this mock that led to our choice between two Crimson Tide players, Will Anderson Jr and Bryce Young. For this mock we decided to add to our defense and take the best player available.
Will Anderson gives the Raiders another high end pass rusher to pair long term with Maxx Crosby. The Raiders have so many holes on defense that adding high end talent needs to be the priority. Anderson has top tier tools with his mix of strength, explosion, and length. He wins primarily with stunts, twists, but has the skill set to win traditional pass rush reps as well. The Raiders need at EDGE is more of a long term one than a short term, but that’ll allow Anderson to ease into the NFL, especially with Chandler Jones going into his age 33 season, and take off in 2024.
**2nd Round (33rd Overall) – Brian Branch, DB, Alabama**
After picking Will Anderson, we wanted to focus on getting a player with more of a clear path to starting reps. That being said, up until he went at pick 32, Bijan Robinson was going to be our pick. However, once he was picked we had a discussion between Jahmyr Gibbs and Brian Branch. In the end, I wanted to improve our secondary and Branch gives us someone who should step in immediately as a starter with the versatility to play multiple spots.
Branch has great coverage instincts, and while he has primarily lined up in the slot, should be able to play multiple positions in the Raiders defense. The only locked-in starters for 2023 are Tre’von Moehrig at FS and Nate Hobbs who has primarily lined up at outside CB this year after playing the slot as a rookie. Branch should be able to find starting reps at box safety and slot corner as a rookie. In addition to his coverage skills, Branch is a dynamic run defender and blitzer who has impressive read and react skills and open field tackling.
**3rd Round (68th Overall) – Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Alabama**
We discussed Gibbs at 33 and he made it to 68. What else would you expect us to do? We did think about adding to our OL room with Darnell Wright but the value of Gibbs was too much to pass on. Josh Jacobs is playing out of his mind but is an upcoming free agent. Zamir White was drafted last year in the 4th and has shown flashes but New England has a history of bringing in Day 2 backs to add to the stable.
GIbbs is an explosive runner who thrives on zone runs. His ability to cut and get upfield is an elite trait and he pairs that with a solid receiving profile, both from the backfield and from the slot and good vision and patience. He isn’t the strongest back but projects to be a great partner to the stronger White. The Raiders have lacked a true home run threat at RB these past few seasons and Gibbs gives them that.
**Conclusion**
Yes, we picked all Alabama players and no I’m not sorry. Each of these players were among the best players available at the time of their selection and each adds talent to a roster that needs it after multiple bad drafts of drafts lacking top picks. If the draft continued to the forth we likely would have drafted Darnell Wright or Matthew Bergeron to compete at RT.
Holy shit, people are already doing mock drafts???
My god…
Losers…and I ain’t talking about my Raiders
The bye week is so fun. We just not going to win another game huh? Second pick? 😂
Lol really mimicking an inept GM with these picks.
Will Anderson #2 overall is a flat-out joke. On a roster with Crosby and Chandler Jones (regardless on how you feel about him) to use that high of a pick on someone who would be coming off the bench is just bad.
Especially with guys like Bryan Bresee and Jalen Carter who are probably better prospects and actually fill a huge hole.
All that said, it’s week 5. We’re 8 months away from having any real idea about the draft so this is all just pointless.
Edit: Holy shit I just noticed you have us taking a RB in the 3rd round. Despite us drafton 2! this last year and with a possible extention for Jacobs. It’s like someone drafted having never heard of the Raiders.