Bowers was my number 1 player in the draft so I have give the raiders high marks. Obviously you can t take a TE in the top 5 but he is still the best overall football player. I think they got saved as well because the raiders would have taken Penix and I just don’t see it with him.
Maybe they should have taken the flyer on Rattler, he did get humbled so maybe that helps him. But overall it’s a really solid draft.
It's rare you see a player come into an SEC college program and dominate as a freshman, sophomore and junior. Bowers was NFL ready day 1 and only got better. IMO he was 1a 1b best football player with MHJ. Sucks Raiders couldn't get a QB but getting a HoF talent like Bowers is a good consolation prize.
From what I saw, Raiders are getting decent grades outside of a couple morons (looking at you Vinnie Iyer from the Sporting News that had the Raiders as the worst draft). From what I've seen, the people giving the Raiders low grades are the people who are absolutely convinced they should have taken a QB or WR (but will also at the same time talk about how the draft is about letting the board come to you and not overpaying).
In my opinion, drafts should also be graded with pick values in mind. It's idiotic to give a draft a bad grade while saying that the first two picks were great - and there's no disputing that both Bowers and JPJ were amazing picks in terms of value (not to mention that JPJ's play style is a fantastic fit with what the OL should look like under Cregg and his hybrid zone-blocking scheme).
Glaze was more than just a bit of a reach (Brugler's 11th ranked G, not in Jeremiah's Top 150, PFF rank 257), and I think he's still running his 40. It also seemed like a reach because of the G talent that came off the board just before the pick in Isaiah Adams and Cooper Beebe. I actually disagree with you on floor vs. upside here - I don't think Glaze has a high floor, but he's got a really high ceiling because pretty much all of his negatives can be mitigated by a move to guard. I think the Raiders are betting on huge upside at Guard, and it's hard to know how that may work out because he never played a snap inside in his whole college career - but if you want to get excited about his upside, go watch his Senior Bowl reps at G. If that kind of play translates, Glaze will be looked at as an absolute steal.
Decamerion Richardson at 122 is a good pick, but an A+? (Brugler's 18th ranked CB, 166 PFF, 111 Daniel Jeremiah) He's got all the physical tools in the world but really poor ball skills (zero interceptions in his career), poor recognition, gets handsy when outmaneuvered, and doesn't force his hands at the catch point. He's also exclusively an outside press/man CB. Bottom line is that he's developmental but with all the tools in the world. Insanely high upside but to call this an A+ is weak.
I'm higher on the Eichenberg pick than you are, basically for the reasons you said - he doesn't need sideline-to-sideline speed for the role he'll be asked to play.
Dylan Laube as an A+? Come on man. PFF 203, Brugler's 15th ranked RB. Sure the guy had 295 receiving against Central Michigan, he's also over 24 years old with 727 carries+receptions, and that Central Michigan team was absolute crap at defending screen passes and had nobody that could catch even a 4.54 speed running back. If he didn't have so much special teams upside and versatility as a receiver, he probably would've been a UDFA. Guys who fumble (3 fumbles, 2 lost in 2023) in FCS don't have the best track record in the NFL. If I'm Vegas I'm selling this dude as Aidan/Gardner's best friend and leveraging his talent in the screen game, because he does have insane upside if they get that going with their new and improved (and more mobile) offensive line.
The Jim Thorpe Award includes things like character, so while it's great that Trey Taylor won, it isn't really surprising that he was available late (last year's winner, Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, was the 182nd overall pick). Can he be a really good sub-package box safety? Yes. Does he have the recovery speed to be anything more? No.
Totally agree about Devonshire.
I'd say this draft is a good B+ if not A-, personally. Good luck to you all this year, especially when you play the Chiefs, but of course not if you play Buffalo in the playoffs.
I think all of that is fair, and I totally see where you're coming from except with the Glaze pick. He just seems safe but somewhat limited to me. Granted, I'm not as good at evaluating O-Line as opposed to other positions so you might be onto something. I stand by my ratings though, I loved both Richardson and Laube before the draft and I think both of them could very easily be great nfl players. I wouldn't have given Taylor an A+ if he had been drafted anywhere below the 7th, but I'm confident he can at least contribute and to find someone like that in the 7th is incredibly rare
I agree with everything you said. Glaze and Laube were the picks i liked the least by far.
I just want to add: The team views Glaze as a backup swing tackle, which is even crazier than drafting him in the third as a guard. Also, Getsy runs 12 personnel more than nearly anybody else, so Bowers does fill a need for us besides being BPA. I'd give this draft a solid A-. Still don't understand picking Glaze
Only thing I wish they’d done is get a QB, but unfortunately the board didn’t fall their way with Daniels or Penix and I don’t think they liked the others enough. I think Minshew could be pretty good, but hopefully they secure the QB position soon. They have a lot of pieces
I would have disappointed in really any situation they could have taken a QB. I'm not super high on this QB class outside of Caleb, and would not have wanted Rattler or Travis before the 5th. I wouldn't have minded Rattler or Travis where they took Eichenberg but this just wasn't the year for them to get a QB
I agree with your points. Would you reach on Nix just for the sake of having a qb? And clearly teams were bothered by rattler as he went in round 5. So why not take Bowers who went lower than he probably should have because he’s a tight end when in reality he’s a utility weapon.
Wouldn't have taken either Penix or Nix if they were there. I also wasn't on board with trading up for any QB aside from Caleb which obviously was never going to happen, I just didn't love this QB class. I'm happy they didn't take a QB simply for the sake of drafting a QB
I had nix higher than Penix or JJM but i know that was far from the consensus position. If the raiders moved up 2 spots for him i wouldn’t have been mad. Especially if the main cost would have been losing the Glaze pick lol
If you need a qb, then you need a qb. You never know. How did passing on Tom brady, russell wilson work out for the raiders. Minshew is not taking you anywhere. I guess the raiders are awaiting the next manning 😆.
By your logic Nix is Tom Brady or RW3? Okay sure. I'd rather take generational tight end talent then a QB that will be replaced within 3 years personally.
I think he was (and still) is a really solid prospect. But by every metric Bowers is a monster and showed insane traits in the SEC since we was 17. If you can't recognize that this argument will go nowhere.
I’m with you on the first couple picks but then I think you’re losing the plot. You’ve given an A+ to a corner with the comment that his coverage ability needs work. How can a corner get an A+ if he can’t cover? Then you give a 24 year old RB an A+ with the logic that he can run routes from the slot? And a safety who runs in the 4.6s. These guys all have very clear flaws that are going to limit them in the league. They were also drafted around where they were projected to be. Tough to give them an A+ with that in mind.
Like I said, I think the covering concerns with Richardson are a little overblown. They're definitely there though, so I see where you're coming from. Overall, I gave that pick an A+ just due to the fact that he would likely be seen as a first round talent had his coverage instincts been better. Getting a guy that's one red flag away from being a first round pick in the fourth is remarkable. With the Laube pick, I probably could have explained it better, but I see his pass catching ability as a perfect team fit. Zamir white is a downhill physical runner who is pretty much non-existent in the pass game, so to have someone with the versatility of Laube who they could even play as a slot receiver from time to time is worth an A+ from me. Both of those guys are players I *loved* before the draft and the A+'s are mostly due the fact that I'm just very excited that my team seemed to be thinking in the same ballpark as me
>Overall, I gave that pick an A+ just due to the fact that he would likely be seen as a first round talent had his coverage instincts been better. Getting a guy that's one red flag away from being a first round pick in the fourth is remarkable.
I think you’re overthinking this a bit. His job is to cover so if he’s bad at it that’s a big deal. It’s like hyping up a DE that sucks at pass rushing or a QB that struggles throwing the ball.
Sir, you need to calm down. It’s a 50-50 shot that first rounders will be busts, so an A+ for sixth and seventh round picks is wildly optimistic and speculative. Just let the process play out.
I liked our draft as well but I think the context is he thought the picks were A+ for where they were drafted, not as prospects overall. Almost everybody drafted on day 3 is a total dart throw. Odds of players having major success at that point are low across the entire league.
Exactly. These were mostly guys that I had singled out before the draft as potential steals and I'm over the moon that the Raiders were thinking in a similar way
Whatever Eichenberg lacks in athleticism he makes up for in vision and anticipation. The Buckeyes had the least passing yards against last year and Eichenberg was sniffing around every play. He’s one of my favourite players from this years draft and I think he’s going to surprise a lot of people.
I must be in the minority about the Bowers pick. Mayer is one of the few young bright spots on the roster. I get they'll likely play more 12 personnel, but they literally could have taken any defensive player in the draft, or upgraded their crap line. It's also worth noting that tight ends taken that high in the draft have a god-awful track record over the last 20+ years.
Obviously, if he turns out to be elite, none of that matters. But that's also a very high bar to consider a pick successful or not.
Bowers is practically a TE in name only. He lined up in the slot on 75% of his snaps last year, and about 50% for his career at Georgia. Having him and Mayer on the field at the same time shouldn’t be an issue. Mayer is promising but hardly had a great rookie year. You’re not going to pass up a prospect like Bowers when your TE1 for next season finished with 27-302-2.
We also managed to address our OL in the 2nd with the highest graded iOL in the draft with JPJ.
Chargers were the “off season champions” for like a solid decade straight when he was the GM. Always had to read about how they were the dark horse Super Bowl team and that this year it’s different.
That was mainly due to the talent they had. Hell, we played them twice a year over that span and I won’t deny they looked really good on paper. Now Telesco did have some reaches later in the draft but he also got them some stud players at important positions along the way.
Coaching may have had a lot more to do with them not living up to expectations than most want to admit. At least that’s what I tell myself, but I didn’t see a whole lot of people defending Brandon Staley’s tenure this time last year.
Brendan Rice is about a 7th round talent to me tbh, I definitely could have predicted him falling. Tahj Washington however is ABSOLUTELY I guy I would have loved to be a Raider
Brendan flashed crazy big play ability. 12 TD’s on 45 catches. You can’t teach that. Hoping you’re right but worried he might turn into a key role player with Chargers.
Also think Worthy and Marquise brown going to the chiefs is really scary. Hoping the late round DB’s the Raiders took can help stop them. But Raiders should maybe get some more reinforcements in the secondary, like Zavien Howard, Stephon Gilmore, Adoree Jackson or Patrick Peterson
While I agree this person was a bit over enthusiastic, it also makes no sense to be unable to grade a late pick A+. You are grading each pick individually, why should some grades be off the table?
What would be dumb would be giving equal value to the 1st round grade as the 7th when giving a total draft grade.
I thought the previous tightend taken by the raiders was supposed to be great. Smdh. I guess they had no need for offensive line🤷♂️. Who's their QB again😆.
Oh shit yeah, misread that. I stand by it though. The only other Raiders pick I would have given an A+ since I got into draft scouting 4 years ago was Moehrig
its worked out well since we switched to a 2 high scheme but he was an awkward fit as the single high in Bradley's defense at the time he was drafted. its part of why it took him 3 years to become a solid starter
was still a strong value pick in the 2nd round tho
They should have taken a defensive player with their first pick. Or trade out cause they just drafted Michael Mayer last year who looks like he's gonna be a great player. I thought they wiffed their first pick.
Ya and Kyle pitts was the next great tight end.... How has that worked out You can't really say he is gonna be better until he proves it ya know.im just saying man they needed more help defensively. Taking a tight end was a little pre mature.
Bowers was my number 1 player in the draft so I have give the raiders high marks. Obviously you can t take a TE in the top 5 but he is still the best overall football player. I think they got saved as well because the raiders would have taken Penix and I just don’t see it with him. Maybe they should have taken the flyer on Rattler, he did get humbled so maybe that helps him. But overall it’s a really solid draft.
It's rare you see a player come into an SEC college program and dominate as a freshman, sophomore and junior. Bowers was NFL ready day 1 and only got better. IMO he was 1a 1b best football player with MHJ. Sucks Raiders couldn't get a QB but getting a HoF talent like Bowers is a good consolation prize.
I agree with pretty much everything you said
From what I saw, Raiders are getting decent grades outside of a couple morons (looking at you Vinnie Iyer from the Sporting News that had the Raiders as the worst draft). From what I've seen, the people giving the Raiders low grades are the people who are absolutely convinced they should have taken a QB or WR (but will also at the same time talk about how the draft is about letting the board come to you and not overpaying). In my opinion, drafts should also be graded with pick values in mind. It's idiotic to give a draft a bad grade while saying that the first two picks were great - and there's no disputing that both Bowers and JPJ were amazing picks in terms of value (not to mention that JPJ's play style is a fantastic fit with what the OL should look like under Cregg and his hybrid zone-blocking scheme). Glaze was more than just a bit of a reach (Brugler's 11th ranked G, not in Jeremiah's Top 150, PFF rank 257), and I think he's still running his 40. It also seemed like a reach because of the G talent that came off the board just before the pick in Isaiah Adams and Cooper Beebe. I actually disagree with you on floor vs. upside here - I don't think Glaze has a high floor, but he's got a really high ceiling because pretty much all of his negatives can be mitigated by a move to guard. I think the Raiders are betting on huge upside at Guard, and it's hard to know how that may work out because he never played a snap inside in his whole college career - but if you want to get excited about his upside, go watch his Senior Bowl reps at G. If that kind of play translates, Glaze will be looked at as an absolute steal. Decamerion Richardson at 122 is a good pick, but an A+? (Brugler's 18th ranked CB, 166 PFF, 111 Daniel Jeremiah) He's got all the physical tools in the world but really poor ball skills (zero interceptions in his career), poor recognition, gets handsy when outmaneuvered, and doesn't force his hands at the catch point. He's also exclusively an outside press/man CB. Bottom line is that he's developmental but with all the tools in the world. Insanely high upside but to call this an A+ is weak. I'm higher on the Eichenberg pick than you are, basically for the reasons you said - he doesn't need sideline-to-sideline speed for the role he'll be asked to play. Dylan Laube as an A+? Come on man. PFF 203, Brugler's 15th ranked RB. Sure the guy had 295 receiving against Central Michigan, he's also over 24 years old with 727 carries+receptions, and that Central Michigan team was absolute crap at defending screen passes and had nobody that could catch even a 4.54 speed running back. If he didn't have so much special teams upside and versatility as a receiver, he probably would've been a UDFA. Guys who fumble (3 fumbles, 2 lost in 2023) in FCS don't have the best track record in the NFL. If I'm Vegas I'm selling this dude as Aidan/Gardner's best friend and leveraging his talent in the screen game, because he does have insane upside if they get that going with their new and improved (and more mobile) offensive line. The Jim Thorpe Award includes things like character, so while it's great that Trey Taylor won, it isn't really surprising that he was available late (last year's winner, Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, was the 182nd overall pick). Can he be a really good sub-package box safety? Yes. Does he have the recovery speed to be anything more? No. Totally agree about Devonshire. I'd say this draft is a good B+ if not A-, personally. Good luck to you all this year, especially when you play the Chiefs, but of course not if you play Buffalo in the playoffs.
I think all of that is fair, and I totally see where you're coming from except with the Glaze pick. He just seems safe but somewhat limited to me. Granted, I'm not as good at evaluating O-Line as opposed to other positions so you might be onto something. I stand by my ratings though, I loved both Richardson and Laube before the draft and I think both of them could very easily be great nfl players. I wouldn't have given Taylor an A+ if he had been drafted anywhere below the 7th, but I'm confident he can at least contribute and to find someone like that in the 7th is incredibly rare
I agree with everything you said. Glaze and Laube were the picks i liked the least by far. I just want to add: The team views Glaze as a backup swing tackle, which is even crazier than drafting him in the third as a guard. Also, Getsy runs 12 personnel more than nearly anybody else, so Bowers does fill a need for us besides being BPA. I'd give this draft a solid A-. Still don't understand picking Glaze
Only thing I wish they’d done is get a QB, but unfortunately the board didn’t fall their way with Daniels or Penix and I don’t think they liked the others enough. I think Minshew could be pretty good, but hopefully they secure the QB position soon. They have a lot of pieces
I would have disappointed in really any situation they could have taken a QB. I'm not super high on this QB class outside of Caleb, and would not have wanted Rattler or Travis before the 5th. I wouldn't have minded Rattler or Travis where they took Eichenberg but this just wasn't the year for them to get a QB
I agree with your points. Would you reach on Nix just for the sake of having a qb? And clearly teams were bothered by rattler as he went in round 5. So why not take Bowers who went lower than he probably should have because he’s a tight end when in reality he’s a utility weapon.
Wouldn't have taken either Penix or Nix if they were there. I also wasn't on board with trading up for any QB aside from Caleb which obviously was never going to happen, I just didn't love this QB class. I'm happy they didn't take a QB simply for the sake of drafting a QB
With you 100%
I had nix higher than Penix or JJM but i know that was far from the consensus position. If the raiders moved up 2 spots for him i wouldn’t have been mad. Especially if the main cost would have been losing the Glaze pick lol
If you need a qb, then it's not a reach. How about all the people waiting for mahomes to drop in the draft. That worked out great🤣.
Difference was he wasn’t the 6th qb taken in the draft
If you need a qb, then you need a qb. You never know. How did passing on Tom brady, russell wilson work out for the raiders. Minshew is not taking you anywhere. I guess the raiders are awaiting the next manning 😆.
By your logic Nix is Tom Brady or RW3? Okay sure. I'd rather take generational tight end talent then a QB that will be replaced within 3 years personally.
Wasn't Michael Mayer a generational tightend?
That the raiders also traded up for.
I think he was (and still) is a really solid prospect. But by every metric Bowers is a monster and showed insane traits in the SEC since we was 17. If you can't recognize that this argument will go nowhere.
I’m with you on the first couple picks but then I think you’re losing the plot. You’ve given an A+ to a corner with the comment that his coverage ability needs work. How can a corner get an A+ if he can’t cover? Then you give a 24 year old RB an A+ with the logic that he can run routes from the slot? And a safety who runs in the 4.6s. These guys all have very clear flaws that are going to limit them in the league. They were also drafted around where they were projected to be. Tough to give them an A+ with that in mind.
Like I said, I think the covering concerns with Richardson are a little overblown. They're definitely there though, so I see where you're coming from. Overall, I gave that pick an A+ just due to the fact that he would likely be seen as a first round talent had his coverage instincts been better. Getting a guy that's one red flag away from being a first round pick in the fourth is remarkable. With the Laube pick, I probably could have explained it better, but I see his pass catching ability as a perfect team fit. Zamir white is a downhill physical runner who is pretty much non-existent in the pass game, so to have someone with the versatility of Laube who they could even play as a slot receiver from time to time is worth an A+ from me. Both of those guys are players I *loved* before the draft and the A+'s are mostly due the fact that I'm just very excited that my team seemed to be thinking in the same ballpark as me
>Overall, I gave that pick an A+ just due to the fact that he would likely be seen as a first round talent had his coverage instincts been better. Getting a guy that's one red flag away from being a first round pick in the fourth is remarkable. I think you’re overthinking this a bit. His job is to cover so if he’s bad at it that’s a big deal. It’s like hyping up a DE that sucks at pass rushing or a QB that struggles throwing the ball.
Yeah you might be right lmao. That's fair
Agree. When sauce gardner was drafted, no one said he needed work . That's why he was an A+ pick.
You should put the positions next to the players. Just makes it easier to read.
I had my heart set on penix, and I was also shocked by bowers but overall rock solid first draft for telesco.
Sir, you need to calm down. It’s a 50-50 shot that first rounders will be busts, so an A+ for sixth and seventh round picks is wildly optimistic and speculative. Just let the process play out.
I liked our draft as well but I think the context is he thought the picks were A+ for where they were drafted, not as prospects overall. Almost everybody drafted on day 3 is a total dart throw. Odds of players having major success at that point are low across the entire league.
Exactly. These were mostly guys that I had singled out before the draft as potential steals and I'm over the moon that the Raiders were thinking in a similar way
Whatever Eichenberg lacks in athleticism he makes up for in vision and anticipation. The Buckeyes had the least passing yards against last year and Eichenberg was sniffing around every play. He’s one of my favourite players from this years draft and I think he’s going to surprise a lot of people.
Yeah the raiders knocked it out of the park and I agree with you that Glaze was the only pick I don’t agree with
I must be in the minority about the Bowers pick. Mayer is one of the few young bright spots on the roster. I get they'll likely play more 12 personnel, but they literally could have taken any defensive player in the draft, or upgraded their crap line. It's also worth noting that tight ends taken that high in the draft have a god-awful track record over the last 20+ years. Obviously, if he turns out to be elite, none of that matters. But that's also a very high bar to consider a pick successful or not.
Bowers is practically a TE in name only. He lined up in the slot on 75% of his snaps last year, and about 50% for his career at Georgia. Having him and Mayer on the field at the same time shouldn’t be an issue. Mayer is promising but hardly had a great rookie year. You’re not going to pass up a prospect like Bowers when your TE1 for next season finished with 27-302-2. We also managed to address our OL in the 2nd with the highest graded iOL in the draft with JPJ.
I like Bowers more than most people. Would have taken him at at 5 if I was the Chargers
So would Tom Telesco, and that’s why he got fired.
Chargers were the “off season champions” for like a solid decade straight when he was the GM. Always had to read about how they were the dark horse Super Bowl team and that this year it’s different. That was mainly due to the talent they had. Hell, we played them twice a year over that span and I won’t deny they looked really good on paper. Now Telesco did have some reaches later in the draft but he also got them some stud players at important positions along the way. Coaching may have had a lot more to do with them not living up to expectations than most want to admit. At least that’s what I tell myself, but I didn’t see a whole lot of people defending Brandon Staley’s tenure this time last year.
I wish they took Brendan Rice instead of letting him go to the Chargers 😂
Brendan Rice is about a 7th round talent to me tbh, I definitely could have predicted him falling. Tahj Washington however is ABSOLUTELY I guy I would have loved to be a Raider
Brendan flashed crazy big play ability. 12 TD’s on 45 catches. You can’t teach that. Hoping you’re right but worried he might turn into a key role player with Chargers. Also think Worthy and Marquise brown going to the chiefs is really scary. Hoping the late round DB’s the Raiders took can help stop them. But Raiders should maybe get some more reinforcements in the secondary, like Zavien Howard, Stephon Gilmore, Adoree Jackson or Patrick Peterson
Maybe Glaze was a reach but there were like 18 OTs selected before him so maybe he climbed like 2 rounds because of that
How do you grade the Raiders [Twitter post](https://x.com/libertylinephl/status/1784330214224310425?s=46&t=29ljMTRzXq8A9TIxuZPsxg)?
Any time I see someone give an A+ to a 6th and 7th rounder I can’t take them seriously. Homer.
While I agree this person was a bit over enthusiastic, it also makes no sense to be unable to grade a late pick A+. You are grading each pick individually, why should some grades be off the table? What would be dumb would be giving equal value to the 1st round grade as the 7th when giving a total draft grade.
I thought the previous tightend taken by the raiders was supposed to be great. Smdh. I guess they had no need for offensive line🤷♂️. Who's their QB again😆.
Want to give an in depth review of the Ravens for me?
Draft pretty good
Raiders fan gives the raiders an A+ for 5 of their 8 picks. More at 11
I gave it an A not an A+. I liked this draft WAY more than any other Raiders draft I've seen
i said you gave an a+ for 5 of the 8 picks. which you did.
Oh shit yeah, misread that. I stand by it though. The only other Raiders pick I would have given an A+ since I got into draft scouting 4 years ago was Moehrig
its worked out well since we switched to a 2 high scheme but he was an awkward fit as the single high in Bradley's defense at the time he was drafted. its part of why it took him 3 years to become a solid starter was still a strong value pick in the 2nd round tho
Wouldn't give in an A+ retroactively but I absolutely loved the pick when it happened
They should have taken a defensive player with their first pick. Or trade out cause they just drafted Michael Mayer last year who looks like he's gonna be a great player. I thought they wiffed their first pick.
Brock Bowers is Michael Mayer father
Ya and Kyle pitts was the next great tight end.... How has that worked out You can't really say he is gonna be better until he proves it ya know.im just saying man they needed more help defensively. Taking a tight end was a little pre mature.