Las Vegas Raiders land impact rookie starters in 2021 mock draft
Is 2021 a put up or shut up year for the Las Vegas Raiders?
Jon Gruden is knee-deep in his 10-year contract while Mike Mayock is entering year three as the general manager of the team. Both of these guys went from being on the field to working in TV and back onto the field and there have been mixed results for the recently relocated Raiders in their time together.
On the one hand, the Las Vegas Raiders are one of just a handful of teams to actually beat the mighty Kansas City Chiefs in the last two years.
On the other hand, what is this team’s future? Why are big-money free agent acquisitions not working out? Why are the team’s high first-round picks since Gruden took over struggling to get things going?
Ultimately, the Las Vegas Raiders have done plenty right in the past couple of seasons. To be able to put together a roster that is capable of beating the Kansas City Chiefs, even in the “any given Sunday” world we live in, is no small feat.
How can Gruden and Mayock get this team into the playoffs? They’ve gone from 4-12 to 7-9 to 8-8 in Gruden’s first three seasons, at least improving each year. This year, however, the rubber meets the road.
The Raiders have had three going on four years to assemble the roster the way Jon Gruden wants it, and going on three years of doing it how he and Mayock together want it. The work these two have been doing together has to result in a winning record and playoff appearance (at least) in 2021 or changes may need to be made.
Gruden is probably safe, but besides that, all bets could be off.
With that being said, the Raiders have had five first-round picks in Mike Mayock’s first two years on the job, and they’ve been aggressors in free agency. After another fairly aggressive free agency period in 2021, how will they add through the draft?
Stay with me for a somewhat unconventional mock draft for the Las Vegas Raiders. I’m predicting, in this scenario, that they keep their top pick (17th overall) as well as trade their second and third-round selections to get back into the 20s.
I also have them trading a future second-round pick to get back into the second round in 2021, as well as their fourth- and fifth-round picks to get into the back end of the third round.
All of that to say, this mock draft scenario will have the Raiders using two first-round picks, a second-round pick, and a late third-round pick to find impact starters.