Oakland Raiders Poll: Guard Jon Feliciano The Right Pick?

By Jonathan George | May 9, 2015

With the 2015 NFL Draft in the books, it’s time to take a look back at some of the picks made by the Oakland Raiders. While most fans can agree that they needed help at several key positions like wide receiver, guard, and safety, it’s not always easy to get a consensus on whether the players picked were selected at the right time, or even if they should have been selected at all. Let’s take a closer look at the Raiders 4th round selection (128 overall), guard Jon Feliciano from the University of Miami.

When Oakland went through days 1 and 2 without picking an offensive lineman, most fans and experts agreed that it was important for the silver and black to find quality help for this group somewhere between rounds 4 and 7. The good news for Oakland was that a couple of guys that were viewed by many as 2 or 3rd round guys had gone unselected, and the Raiders were picking early in both rounds 4 and 5.

When the draft started Sunday and Oakland’s pick came up guys like Tre’ Jackson from Florida State and Daryl Williams from Oklahoma were still on the board, as was tackle T.J. Clemens from Pittsburgh, who some had going as high as the 1st round in their mock drafts.

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The Raiders traded down and eventually took Feliciano towards the end of the round while picking up some additional draft picks. While the extra picks are a positive, the move to skip out on the higher rated talent for Feliciano was an interesting decision.

There is no doubt Feliciano has been overcoming obstacles his whole life, as he was born with a foot deformity and required braces to correct the issue. He lived in poverty growing up as well, and was able to overcome all of this to have a fairly successful career at the University of Miami before being drafted by Oakland.

Feliciano is a large mountain of a man at 6’4” and 320 pounds, and his playing experience at guard, center, and tackle in college was probably an attractive trait Oakland noticed. The fact that he only gave up a handful of sacks in three years at Miami was most likely another big plus. This could be why Derek Stephens of NFLDraftScout.com described Feliciano as a “powerful run blocker with a strong anchor against the bull rush.”

The issue is that while Feliciano showed grit, heart, and determination throughout his life and playing career, there can be no doubt that he did not show the measurables at the combine or his pro day in speed, strength, and ability that scouts covet from starting NFL guards.

A scouting report from NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein states that “Feliciano is a competent college guard who appears to be lacking the athleticism and technique to be a full-time NFL starter.”, and Ryan Booher of CBSSports.com projected Feliciano as the 22nd best guard while mentioning that “his overall lack of athleticism probably points to a late day 3 selection or a priority free agent once the draft commences.”

“(a)powerful run blocker with a strong anchor against the bull rush”-Derek Stephens, NFLDraftScout.com describing Raiders Guard Jon Feliciano

The Raiders obviously drafted him to compete for the starting right guard spot, and for depth all over the line if that doesn’t become a reality. Anything short of that would be a miss with the pick when you consider what they could have had in the round.

So, the Raiders obviously saw something in Feliciano that merited drafting him fairly early for someone with his measurables, and scouts didn’t seem to agree with it based on their projections. But in the end, heart and desire seem to always trump perceived talent ceilings. The question is, do you think the Raiders took the right guy in the 4th round? Should they have taken someone else altogether, or waited to grab Feliciano later in the draft? Take a look at the poll and let us know!

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