Oakland Raiders: Blame 49ers For Kolton Miller Pick
By Erik Lambert
The Oakland Raiders 2018 draft has endured plenty of criticism since the festivities ended a week ago, and it all started with their first pick.
A lot of experts couldn’t believe that UCLA tackle Kolton Miller was being considered for the 1st round. While it’s obvious he’s got size and length to his advantage, many felt his tape didn’t warrant such admiration. One scout told NFL.com that he was an average athlete and wouldn’t amount to anything special. A player who would likely be exposed by better pass rushers in the NFL. So how is it that the Raiders made this guy the likely successor to Donald Penn at left tackle?
The simple answer may be that it wasn’t the original plan. Oakland had the right idea with wanting to invest in the offensive line. Given the strength of their interior trio, tackle made the most sense with Penn being well into his 30s. Still, there’s no question Miller was a reach even after trading back to #15 overall. The truth is though that he may not have been their first choice. It was almost a different story if not for an unfortunate twist of fate.
Raiders wanted Mike McGlinchey but were undercut by their bay rival
Albert Breer of the MMQB heard a lot of post-draft rumblings about what went down in the 1st round. The big buzz was how the Broncos and Browns turned down a huge offer from Buffalo to move up for their quarterback. As it turns out, those decisions may have had a cascade effect on the Raiders’ picking of Miller. It turns out the tackle they actually coveted was Mike McGlinchey of Notre Dame.
"“There were rumblings on the afternoon of the draft that the Raiders were looking to trade up for Notre Dame OT Mike McGlinchey, and the teams I spoke with didn’t know who they were trying to leap-frog to get him. Evidently, they figured out that the team across the bay had eyes for him, even though he hadn’t been linked to the 49ers much during the process. And sure enough, San Francisco was the team that Oakland wound up losing him to, with McGlinchey going ninth overall.”"
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A trade up would’ve made sense. Sadly, their options were ruined thanks to the Bills move. They jumped up to #7 with Tampa Bay to secure Josh Allen. That left just the Colts at #6 and the Bears at #8 before the price got way too steep. Indianapolis had no plans to move with Quenton Nelson on the board. That left the Bears and they also had no plans to move with Roquan Smith falling into their lap. Thus McGlinchey went to San Francisco, prompting the Raiders to trade back with Arizona and selecting Miller at #15 as a consolation prize.