Oakland Raiders: The 2018 NFL Draft Report Card

The Oakland Raiders 2018 NFL draft report card reflects one thing. The organization has returned to its old days of not caring what other people think.

One of the reasons that the draft became so exciting was that everybody never knew what the Raiders were going to do. What seemed like standard procedure for some just didn’t apply to them. Players low on most boards would be higher on theirs. They dared to be different and it was wonderfully thrilling. This draft reflected that mentality for the first time in ages.

So what exactly did they accomplish? Well, they certainly ticked a lot of people off. That includes experts and fans who are ready to burn the draft class to the ground. Is that fair though? In these situations, it is often best to take a breath and truly evaluate what they just did. That in mind, here is a quick breakdown of every pick made.

1st Round:  Kolton Miller (OT, UCLA) – C

The spirit of the pick was not lost on me. Late Raiders owner Al Davis was always a man who favored great athletes when drafting. He believed if the coaching staff was strong enough, then it didn’t matter if certain players might not be the best at football yet. Good coaching would get them where they needed to be. He entrusted that job to Jon Gruden once. Now his son is doing it again.

That said, the old coach has his work cut out for him. Kolton Miller is undoubtedly a physical specimen. At 6’8″ and well north of 300 lbs, he’s still able to move like a tight end. A remarkable athlete. The problem is he lacks certain traits that make top NFL tackles. Chief among them being strength and a nasty disposition. Can the always annoyed Gruden fix that?