Silver Minings: Raiders’ roster crippled by recent bad drafting

Mar 26, 2023 - 4:10 PM

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The Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock era was marred with bad NFL Draft picks for the Las Vegas Raiders. From Clelin Ferrell to Damon Arnette and Alex Leatherwood, the Raiders had first-round bust after first-round bust with Gruden and Mayock running the show and that’s still crippling Las Vegas’ roster to this day.

UPDATE 3/26 9:01 a.m.: The tweet previously included in this story from Warren Sharp is inaccurate and only includes players who played in Las Vegas and not Oakland. The Associated Press’ Josh Dubow shared the correct number, which is 58,910 snaps and ranks 30th out of the 32 teams in the league.

To put more perspective on the situation, below is a breakdown of which players are included in Dubow’s study and where they stand with the Raiders.

2022 (McDaniels and Ziegler first class)

• Dylan Parham, OL (Round: 3, Pick: 90): starter
• Zamir White, RB (R: 4, P: 122): backup
• Neil Farrell, DT (R: 4, P: 126): backup
• Matthew Butler, DT (R: 5, P: 175): backup
• Thayer Munford, OT (R: 7, P: 238): backup
• Brittian Brown, RB (R: 7, P: 250): backup

2021 (Gruden and Mayock)

• Alex Leatherwood, OL (R: 1, P: 17): cut, current backup for the Chicago Bears
• Tre’von Moehrig, S (R: 2, P: 43): starter
• Malcolm Koonce, DE (R: 3, P: 79): backup
• Divine Deablo, LB (R: 3, P: 80): starter
• Tyree Gillespie, S (R: 4, P: 143): cut, current backup for the Jacksonville Jaguars
• Nate Hobbs, CB (R: 5, P: 167): starter
• Jimmy Morrissey, OL (R: 7, P: 230: cut, current backup for the Houston Texans

2020

• Henry Ruggs III, WR (R: 1, P: 11): released
• Damon Arnette, CB (R: 1, P: 19): released, current free agent
• Lynn Bowden, RB/WR (R: 3, P: 80): traded, currently on future/reserve contract with the New England Patriots
• Bryan Edwards, WR (R: 3, P: 81): traded, current free agent
• Tanner Muse, LB (R: 3, P: 100): cut, current backup for the Seattle Seahawks
• John Simpson, OL (R: 3, P: 109): released, currently on future/reserve contract with the Baltimore Ravens
• Amik Robertson, CB (R: 4, P: 139): spot starter

2019

• Clelin Ferrell, DE (R: 1 P: 4): not retained in free agency, signed with the San Francisco 49ers
• Josh Jacobs, RB (R: 1, P: 27): franchise tagged
• Johnathan Abram, S (R: 1, P: 27): released, signed with the New Orleans Saints
• Trayvon Mullen, CB (R: 2, P: 40): traded, backup for the Ravens
• Maxx Crosby, DE (R: 4, P: 106): Pro Bowler
• Isaiah Johnson, DB (R: 4, P: 129): cut, current free agent
• Foster Moreau, TE (R: 4, P: 137): not retained in free agency, current free agent
• Hunter Renfrow, WR (R: 5, P: 149): third receiver
• Quinton Bell, DE (R: 7, P: 230): cut, currently on a future/reserve contract with the Atlanta Falcons

2018 (Gruden and Reggie McKenzie)

• Kolton Miller, OT (R: 1, P: 15): starter
• P.J. Hall, DT (R: 2, P: 57): cut, currently on the Seattle Sea Dragons in the XFL
• Brandon Parker, OT (R: 3, P: 65): backup
• Arden Key, DE (R: 3, P: 87): cut, signed with Tennessee Titans
• Nick Nelson, CB (R: 4, P: 110): cut, current free agent
• Maurice Hurst, DT (R: 5, P: 140): cut, signed with the Cleveland Browns
• Johnny Townsend, P (R: 5, P: 173): cut, currently on the Orlando Guardians in the XFL
• Azeem Victor, LB (R: 6, P: 216): cut, last played for the Houston Gamblers in the USFL in 2022
• Marcell Ateman (R: 7, P: 228): cut, currently on the St. Louis Battlehawks in the XFL

In other Raiders’ links:

• No hard feelings toward Raider for Derek Carr: former QB looks back at his time with the Silver and Black with peace, per Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
• Anthony Richardson worth the seventh pick?: a film breakdown of the Florida QB.
• What are the Raiders doing in free agency: The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen sheds some light on McDaniels’ and Zielgers’ team-building philosophy this offseason.
• Raiders sign John Jenkins: the veteran defensive tackle has 212 career tackles.