HENDERSON, Nev. — With the No. 7 overall pick of the 2023 NFL draft, the Las Vegas Raiders select …
Defense. It just has to be a defensive player. Right?
For the purposes of this exercise, absolutely. Sure, Raiders general manager Dave Ziegler is employing a strategy of addressing specific needs in free agency while wanting to select the best player available among Las Vegas’ 12 draft picks. And the Raiders signed a couple of projected defensive starters in safety Marcus Epps and linebacker Robert Spillane in the first wave of free agency, as well as cornerbacks Brandon Facyson, David Long Jr. and Duke Shelley. The Raiders also re-signed defensive tackle Jerry Tillery, a late-season pickup.
But last season’s 28th-ranked total defense needs to draft a starter or three on that side of the ball, plus reinforcements, so the Raiders should go heavy there in the draft.
A look, then, at three defensive position groups the Raiders could potentially target early in the draft, after last week’s look at potential offensive targets …
Cornerback
A franchise that once boasted the likes of Willie Brown, Lester Hayes, Mike Haynes, Terry McDaniel, Charles Woodson and Nnamdi Asomugha on the outside has swung and missed mightily on players such as Fabian Washington, D.J. Hayden, Gareon Conley and Damon Arnette in the first round over the past two decades. Ouch.
But if the Raiders stand pat at No. 7, one — if not both — of the top two-rated CBs in the draft could be there in Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez and Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon.
So, which direction would the Raiders turn if they go cornerback early? Which direction should they turn?
Gonzalez, at 6-foot-1, 197 pounds, has a smooth skill set that reminds many of a less physical Asomugha, while Witherspoon, at 5-11½, 181 pounds, is the “most complete” cornerback in the draft, per ESPN senior NFL draft analyst Todd McShay.
“He’s a ball hawk, he’s really good in coverage … he’s just so physical,” McShay said of Witherspoon. “The NFL, with so much of the screen game and teams being spread out, you’ve got to be able to tackle at the cornerback position. Where that’s Witherspoon’s strength, that’s the area that Gonzalez has got to improve upon. He is not a great tackler, he’s not great in run support … but he’s 6-1, almost 200 pounds…
“Witherspoon is more complete, but if you’re looking for the best cover corner to just take away your No. 1 receiver, Gonzalez is going to be your guy.”
Consider: Gonzalez ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash at the combine, had a 41.5-inch vertical jump and an 11-1 broad jump.
Witherspoon, meanwhile, allowed a mere 25.3 passer rating against last season and ran a 4.4 40 at his pro day.
Welcome to the AFC West, then, where the Raiders’ corners face Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert and Russell Wilson two times a year each.
Defensive line
Surely, Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. won’t still be there at No. 7, right? Same with Texas Tech defensive end Tyree Wilson. The Raiders insist they won’t shy away from making a strength — looking at you, Maxx Crosby — stronger, so why wouldn’t they make a move at either if they were available. Anderson had 34.5 sacks in three seasons with the Crimson Tide, while Wilson thrived for the Red Raiders after transferring from Texas A&M.
And while the Raiders brought back Tillery, whose late-season arrival seemed to spark Chandler Jones, and also return Bilal Nichols, they need a run-stuffing presence inside who can also collapse the pocket. But less than two years after the fatal crash caused by Henry Ruggs, would they draft Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter, who was arrested this offseason on reckless driving and racing charges, should he fall to No. 7?
“He was the best player in college football, when he was healthy,” said ESPN senior NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr., who called the 6-3, 314-pound Carter a “dominant interior presence” whose talent alone should keep him in the top eight of the draft.
Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said the team would do its due diligence on Carter.
“The big thing is to really do our work and know the truth of everything,” McDaniels said at the owners meetings. “There’s a lot of things that could be said or speculated about that you’ve got to be careful about pinning on somebody.
“If we don’t feel like we’re safe to draft somebody, we’ll just take them off the board and not even include [him as] part of our process.”
Linebacker
The Raiders’ base defense is essentially a nickel, and the two starting linebackers should be Spillane and Divine Deablo. Las Vegas needs depth at the position, but there aren’t many linebackers in the draft with first-round grades, let alone top-seven rankings.
And it’s more feasible for the Raiders, who hold 12 picks, to trade up into the end of the first round to take Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker.
Still, the Raiders do need linebackers. It’s just that there’s not enough value to take one early.
“The position, in general, I don’t want to say it’s been devalued, but you don’t see a lot of first-round picks,” McShay said. “And typically when you do, it’s later in the first.”
Of the top four rated LBs — Arkansas’ Drew Sanders, Iowa’s Jack Campbell, Clemson’s Trenton Simpson and Washington State’s Daiyan Henley — McShay sees the 6-4, 235-pound Sanders as having the most upside (Sanders and Simpson project as outside LBs, while Campbell and Henley look like inside LBs).
“Not elite, but he has the traits to get better and provide value on passing downs,” McShay said of Sanders. “He’s a really good pass-rusher.”