American Football

NFL Combine winners and losers: Raiders will have plenty of options in trenches in NFL Draft

March 5, 2024

Several guards, right tackles and defensive tackles stood out in Indianapolis

Indianapolis, IN — The 2024 NFL Combine is in the books which means we’re creeping closer to the NFL Draft and putting the pieces together for the Las Vegas Raiders roster. To be honest, there weren’t many bad performances from the players who participated in the combine, which is good news for the Silver and Black.

So, let’s dive into some winners and losers after the week in Indianapolis using the new testing data and rumors/reports that are now circulating.

WINNER: Defensive tackle options

Florida State’s Braden Fiske set the tone for the defensive tackles by running a 4.78 40-yard dash (at 292 pounds) with a 1.68 10-yard split, the best and third-best at the position. Fiske also had very impressive jumps to earn an unofficial 9.94 RAS out of 10, the top score among the defensive tackles.

Byron Murphy II and Ruke Orhorhoro also turned in RAS’s over nine, and 11 defensive tackles in total earned at least a good score to give the Raiders plenty of options in the draft to fill one of the team’s biggest needs.

Additionally, we found out that the Miami Dolphins are unlikely to use the franchise tag on Christian Wilkins, adding another interior defender into the mix. In other words, it’s a good offseason to be in the defensive tackle market.

LOSER: Jermaine Eluemunor/Thayer Munford Jr.

The offensive tackle class was widely considered a deep one heading into the combine and Sunday’s workout reinforced that as 14 tackles earned an RAS of 8.36 or higher. For Las Vegas, what’s especially intriguing is that the right tackles stood out.

Bleacher Report’s Brandon Thorn picked four winners at the position and three play on the right side of the line — Georgia’s Amarius Mims, Alabma’s JC Latham and Washington’s Roger Rosengarten. Thorn also named Troy Fautanu as a standout in the interior offensive line section and mentioned the Washington product could hold down the edge depending on which team picks him.

All of that is bad news for impending free agent Jermaine Eluemunor and hopeful starter Thayer Munford Jr. The Raiders should have plenty of options to replace Eluemunor and bring in some stiff competition for Munford Jr. at the top of the depth chart.

WINNER: Troy Fautanu

Fautanu showed some impressive movement skills to earn an unofficial 9.40 RAS and was Sunday’s biggest winner according to several people, including Thorn.

“Fautanu will be a tackle, guard and center for various teams, but for me was my top guard coming into the week,” the o-line guru wrote, “and he had the best overall day among any OL in the drills, showing excellent quickness, redirect skills and burst. His ability to keep his weight centered with zero fat on his movements was extremely impressive, drawing multiple reactions from Eagles OL coach Jeff Stoutland and his peers looking on. His 5.01 40, 32.5 vert and 1.71 10-yard split all matched up well with the linear explosiveness seen on tape as well.”

While the former Husky’s primary experience is at left tackle, he took a few snaps at guard in college and has the athletic profile to potentially flip side of the center. So, he could fill one of the Silver and Black’s needs in the trenches.

LOSER: Raiders’ hopes for a Top 3 Quarterback

Heading into last week, it was widely assumed that the No. 1 and 2 overall picks aren’t up for sale as the Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders are expected to stay put and draft a quarterback. But there was a glimmer of hope that the New England Patriots might opt to trade back and collect more picks to fill the slice of Swiss cheese that is their roster.

However, that doesn’t seem to be the case as The Athletic’s Jeff Howe and Chad Graff reported that the Patriots “really want to draft a quarterback with the No. 3 overall pick.”

So, that hurts the Raiders’ odds at getting one of the three best passers in this year’s draft class, and Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed of The Athletic pretty much confirmed their colleagues’ statements on Monday morning.

“The Raiders have been exploring trading up — and maybe not as high as you think, according to league and team sources,” Tafur and Reed wrote. “It may be unrealistic to swing a trade to move into the top three picks considering the Bears (pick No. 1), Commanders (No. 2) and New England Patriots (No. 3) need quarterbacks. Caleb Williams (USC), Daniels (LSU) and Drake Maye (North Carolina) are widely considered to be the top three quarterback prospects available.

“… Telesco has also had conversations centered on potentially trading for picks in the 5 to 7 range, which are owned by the Los Angeles Chargers (pick No. 5), New York Giants (No. 6) and Tennessee Titans (No. 7). That type of trade could be made to put the Raiders in range for another trade up later or a player at another premium position, but it mostly makes sense if it’s a move up for a quarterback like Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy.

WINNER: Aidan O’Connell

This goes hand-in-hand with the section above as the chances that Aidan O’Connell is the team’s Week 1 starting quarterback improved. Not only are signs pointing toward Las Vegas getting shutout from the top three signal-callers, but also none of the quarterbacks who participated in Saturday’s workout were overly impressive.

Unlike last year, there was no C.J. Stroud or Anthony Richardson who dropped jaws by slinging dime after dime and putting up some ridiculous testing numbers. Instead, guys like McCarthy, Michael Penix Jr. or Bo Nix just proved what was already said about them from a strengths and weaknesses standpoint.

Also, if McCarthy is the trade-up target in the five to seven pick range as The Athletic suggests above, then there is a chance that O’Connell is the starter to at least begin the year.

The Michigan product is the most inexperienced and biggest project of the bunch, as he struggles to see the field, throw with anticipation and to his left. That can improve over time, but sitting and learning for a bit might be best for his development.

WINNER: Quinyon Mitchell

If you’ve been following the draft process since the Senior Bowl, you know that Quinyon Mitchell has been a steady riser over the last couple of months. That continued to be the case in Indianapolis as he posted an unofficial RAS of 9.75, due in part to running the second-fastest 40-yard dash (4.33) among cornerbacks.

Mitchell also recorded an impressive 38-inch vertical jump, and he is firmly in the conversation with the 13th overall pick if the Raiders don’t target a quarterback.