On Friday night, the 2019 NFL draft rolled on with the second and third rounds. The first round of the draft concluded on Thursday night, without too much surprise. The New York Giants surprised a few NFL analysts when the team selected Daniel Jones at No. 6, but other than that, the night was relatively calm. Another NFL team making noise was the Oakland Raiders. With three first-round picks, Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock chose Clemson’s Clelin Ferrell, Alabama’s Josh Jacobs and Mississippi State’ Jonathan Abram. With their first selection of the second round, the Raiders went back to Dabo Swinney’s Clemson Tigers. After trading back twice, the Raiders selected Clemson corner Trayvon Mullen. Following the pick, everyone made the same joke. Obviously Gruden and Mayock were paying attention when Clemson and Alabama met in the national title game. Raiders not going to stop until they’ve drafted every player that was on the field for Alabama-Clemson. — Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) April 26, 2019 Obviously the Raiders like what Dabo Swinney is building at Clemson. The second round of the draft started off with a flurry of activity. Five trades have already been made within the first ten picks of the draft and that action looks to continue as teams try to find their next star. Stay tuned for the latest from the second and third rounds.<doc-sep>After two quick trades by the Raiders they now utilized the 40th overall pick they received from Buffalo on Trayvon Mullen, CB out of Clemson. He now joins his teammate from Clemson Clelin Ferrell who was the Raiders 1st pick in the draft at 4th overall. Mullen is a 6’1, 199lb who ran a 4.46 40 yard dash leading up to the draft, who happens to also be the first cousin of Baltimore Ravens QB Lamarr Jackson. Those back yard football games must have been a blast growing up. He started 14 of 15 games for the National Champion Clemson team and is known for his breakout performance in the Championship game where he won defensive MVP honors in their defeat of Alabama. He won that award because of his beastmode performance of 6 tackles, a sack, an interception and a forced fumble on the collegiate game’s highest stage. The extremely athletic cornerback was awarded 2nd team all conference honors for his 2018 season before deciding to forego his senior year to enter the draft. He is a guy who will need to be coached up to meet his full potential but his incredible athletic ability and quick feet make him an extremely intriguing prospect for Oakland. Raiders picks in all 7 rounds Round 1, pick 4 - Clelin Ferrell , ED, Clemson Round 1, pick 24 (from CHI) - Josh Jacobs, RB, Alabama Round 1, pick 27 -Johnathan Abram, S Mississippi St Round 2, Pick 40 - Trayvon Mullen, CB, Clemson Round 4, pick 106 Round 4, pick 109 (from JAX) Round 5, pick 158 Round 7, pick 218 See the full NFL draft order here<doc-sep>Day one is in the books in the most anticipated draft for the Raiders perhaps ever. At the start of the day, they had picks at 4, 24, and 27 and that’s exactly what they had at the end of the day. Despite Mike Mayock talking a lot about the possibility of moving around with trades, the Raiders stayed put and made their picks. At 4 overall, they grabbed Clemson pass rusher Clelin Ferrell. At 24 overall it was Alabama running back Josh Jacobs. And finally, at 27, they got Mississippi State safety Johnathan Abram. There were some common themes with their three selections. On the surface, the one that is obvious was need. There may have been better overall prospects on the board when they made their pick, but it was clear that filling a need was of utmost importance. Their biggest need far and away was defensive end, so they got one with their top pick. Though not who many thought they would select at 4th overall. Mayock had different ideas of who the top pass rushers were in this draft. For him Ferrell was on the same level as the consensus best prospect in this draft, Nick Bosa. “There were flashier players, players that other teams may have had higher on their boards. On our board it was he and Bosa at that position. Right next to each other at that position,” Mayock said of Ferrell. With neither of last year’s starting backs Marshawn Lynch and Doug Martin returning, the Raiders had a gaping hole at running back. So, with their next pick they got the consensus best back in this draft in Josh Jacobs. Gruden acknowledged that he doesn’t know if Jacobs can be the workhorse back they need him to be right now. Jacobs wasn’t a starter for he Crimson Tide and had just 120 carries last season. “I think he’s going to be a centerpiece at some point. I’m not going to put any pressure on him, he’s got a lot to learn,” Gruden said of Jacobs. “My expectation is for him, if you’re listening Josh, I encourage you to get some rest because we’re going to run you a lot. We’re going to give him a great opportunity.” The secondary needed help. It got a couple cornerbacks in free agency in Lamarcus Joyner and Nevin Lawson. And with safety Karl Joseph coming on strong late last season, while doing his best work at free safety, the major need was clearly for a strong safety. So, they got arguably the best strong safety in this draft in Abram. “He is like one of our old school safeties,” Gruden said of Abram. “He is a physical, sideline to sideline tackling machine in college. I hope it continues here. He has a passion for finding the guy with the ball and bringing him down.” The other common theme was character. In each instance, the conversations with the players they drafted it was clear they had strong character and great stories, including going through some adversity. Jacobs was homeless for a time when he was kid. Ferrell comes from a family of nine kids and his father passed away when he was 13. And yet he is what Mayock calls a “ball of positive energy” — an attitude I can confirm from speaking with him over conference call after he was drafted. And in each instance, the player said when they met with the Raiders staff, they talked more about their personal lives than they did football. “We didn’t talk so much about football,” said Jacobs. “We spent a little time about football then they got to now who I am. They said a lot of feedback when I was telling my story and the things I’ve been through and things like that. They were wow’ed by it all and happy for me.” These themes would figure to be important to a rebuilding team like the Raiders. Teams that are already built can add frills and luxuries. This team, coming off a 4-win season with an historically bad defense and an often toothless offense is still early in its building process and still looking to find its identity. “We’re building our football team . . . and we need building blocks,” said Gruden. “We have some in place and we needed these three first rounders to come in here and inherit that responsibility. This is a tough job. This franchise is moving to Las Vegas. It’s very, very challenging. You got to have a lot of maturity. And we wanted guys that weren’t only great football players and talents, but guys who could handle the circumstances of being frontline players, leaders, and also having a lot of maturity . . . so we did a lot of work on their character and Mayock and I truly believe that that’s the winning edge in all the great players that we’ve been around.” That identity comes from its young players mostly because they are the ones who will be here for the long haul. They are the ones who will carry over from Oakland to Las Vegas. So, their maturity presence in the locker room is vital. So is adding talent to deficient positions on the field to improve from their 4-12 finish last season.<doc-sep>The first two days of the NFL Draft have come and gone, and the Oakland Raiders have come away with four potential starters. However, the draft is not over as the Raiders have a significant haul of picks on Day 3. Before the fourth-round kicks off, let’s take a look at a handful of names who could prove to be steals this late into the draft. TE Foster Moreau, LSU Foster Moreau is one of the most athletic tight ends in the draft and with his ability to block, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him contribute right away in the NFL. He’s got starting upside and the character the Raiders’ covet.<doc-sep>
Heading into this Draft, it was crucial that new general manager Mike Mayock and head coach Jon Gruden find the best possible players to get this team back on the competitive path. Adding defensive talent was the primary concern given the Raiders ranking 30th in rushing yards allowed and 32nd in sacks (13) during the 2018 season. Although finding Derek Carr more weapons and protection on offense was similarly important. To a point, the Raiders partially achieved these goals by selecting defensive end Clelin Ferrell at fourth overall, running back Josh Jacobs at 24, and safety Johnathan Abram at 27th. These three foundational players all addressed needs on the Raiders roster, but Mayock and Gruden weren't quite finished with their work just yet. This roster needed more wide receivers, offensive linemen to compete with the existing starters, and another tight end to continue on the path to victory. The three first-round selections gave Oakland an innate advantage heading into the opening night, but it was up to Gruden and Mayock to capitalize on the opportunities. Without a pick between 35 and 106 due to the trade for Antonio Brown, the Raiders couldn't afford to miss out on any of these early picks. The Oakland Raiders have one more season in the Bay Area, and they want to close out the Coliseum in style. Unfortunately, a brutal schedule will make this task far more difficult as they face off with the NFC North and AFC South. Adding immediate contributors in the draft that can shine on both offense and defense provides the Raiders with a better opportunity to succeed, and now they have to take advantage in the competitive AFC West to jump back into contention. Collegiate and draft profile information provided with assistance from Bill Huber of 247Sports.