Raiders 2022 mock draft following Wild Card playoff loss
By Lucas Schuh
Raiders mock draft rounds 4-7
Scouting Report. Linebacker. Wisconsin. Jack Sanborn. 4. player. 809. Pick Analysis
The Raiders currently have a major deficit at the linebacker position but back in 2020, I thought they had fixed it. Vegas brought in two linebackers from free agency in Nick Kwiatkoski and Corey Littleton, both of which just came off of quality seasons. Despite Kwiatkoski and Littleton having good 2019 seasons, their 2020 seasons were flat-out bad, and the Raiders returned to struggling at the linebacker position.
Despite struggling on the offensive side of things, Wisconsin was maybe one of the best defensive teams in the nation last season, thanks in part to Jack Sanborn. Unsurprisingly, Sanborn is a super high IQ linebacker, who is hard to block and is very comfortable blitzing, Wisconsin basically grows these guys on trees.
While Sanborn has quality skills as a linebacker, he isn’t the most athletic linebacker in the world as he won’t be flying around from sideline to sideline anytime soon. Sanborn likely won’t be a superstar linebacker but he will likely give Vegas a quality linebacker, something they haven’t had in a long time.
Other Players Considered: Jake Ferguson, Zamir White, Mike Rose
LSU. 817. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Edge. Ali Gaye. 5. player
As you get deeper into the draft, the more likely you are to encounter players who are mainly developmental prospects, and in Ali Gaye, that’s what you are getting.
As it stands right now, Gaye is just mainly an athlete more than a pass rusher. Gaye stands at 6’6 250 and definitely is a quality athlete. There are plays where Gaye will pop an offensive lineman with his strength and has shown some straight-line speed that can give linemen trouble.
In terms of actual pass-rushing moves, Gaye doesn’t have many as he is somewhat raw, but if the Raiders are able to develop him into something, they will have themselves another quality pass rusher.
Other Players Considered: Braxton Jones, CJ Verdell, Reggie Roberson Jr
6. 28. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Offensive Tackle. Southern Utah. Braxton Jones. player
I know I have the Raiders taking an offensive tackle earlier in this draft, but with how bad the Raiders offensive line problem is, it might not hurt to take another one, especially one who needs to develop.
On a positive note, Jones is built like a monster. Jones stands at a monstrous 6’7 310, and he isn’t afraid to make his size known as he plays with a bit of a mean streak. It somewhat goes without saying, but Jones has ridiculous length that allows him to hit defenders early.
While Jones has the frame of a quality offensive lineman, he really struggles in almost every aspect of pass protection as he has poor hand usage, a weak anchor, and finds himself off-balance way too often. Like I said before, Jones is absolutely a developmental talent.
Other Players Considered: Grant Calcaterra, Kennedy Brooks, Merlin Robertson
Scouting Report. Edge. 7. player. Pick Analysis. Coastal Carolina. Jeffery Gunter. 28
While Ali Gaye may be more of a developmental talent who is athletic but needs some refinement in terms of pass-rushing moves, the opposite is somewhat true for Jeffery Gunter.
Gunter has a great bull rush and is able to consistently walk back offensive lineman and while he is able to cause some stress for offensive tackles with his bull rush, he lacks the athletic traits a player like Ali Gaye has. Gunter offers little to no speed or twitch and is forced to rely upon his bull rush.
Gunter will likely never become a high-end pass rusher due to his athletic shortcomings, but he might be able to become an okay edge rusher eventually.
Other Players Considered: Eric Gray, Josh Sills, A.J Hampton