Oakland Raiders: Projected rookie roles, statistics for 2019 season

The Oakland Raiders’ 2019 draft class will receive widespread attention as the team goes through a rebuild. What can we expect from each rookie?

We have no idea how the 2019 campaign will unfold, but that doesn’t prevent speculation as to what could transpire during the regular season. For the most part, there’s optimism for the Oakland Raiders‘ rookie class. Collectively, can this group provide a significant impact for the upcoming year?

General manager Mike Mayock and head coach Jon Gruden placed an emphasis on character and a winning mentality with several selections, taking three Clemson prospects and one from Alabama — two heavyweight programs that have squared off in three College Football Playoff Championships over the last four years.

That’s the sign of a culture change for a franchise with one winning season since 2002. It’s important to shift the mindset in the locker room, but the championship pedigrees must translate to production on the field at this level where there’s comparable talent across the league.

As the case last year, Gruden and his coaching staff have to allow their young talents to make mistakes while on the job. The miscues may hurt the team this year, but the learning experiences will build a stronger roster for years to come.

Four out of nine players from 2018 class started 10 or more games: Kolton Miller, Brandon Parker, Arden Key and Maurice Hurst. This excludes punter Johnny Townsend on special teams. A couple of those players may have taken on roles earlier than anticipated, but the Raiders should have better depth because of last year’s rookie workloads.

Looking ahead to the 2019 season, we’ll project rookie roles and statistics for the incoming class. What can we expect from this franchise-altering group this year?