Preparing for the 2021 NFL Draft will be like none other in league history. Two Power-5 conferences have already canceled their fall seasons and several other smaller schools have announced they won’t play football this year due to COVID-19 concerns.
However, the NFL will still go-on and the plan is to have a draft in the spring. But finding talent will be harder than ever as there will be less game-film on the top prospects than ever before.
But that doesn’t stop mock drafts from happening as ESPN’s Todd McShay released his latest mock draft on Wednesday morning. With the usual teams picking quarterbacks early, he has EDGE rusher Gregory Rousseau from Miami falling to the Raiders at pick No. 9. Here are McShay’s thoughts on the Hurricane pass-rusher:
Oregon safety Jevon Holland could help correct a weakness, but he might be a bit of a reach in the top 10. So the Raiders look to the edge rushers — a group that is lacking a bit this year — to find another weapon alongside Clelin Ferrell and Maxx Crosby. While it was an improvement from the 13 they posted in 2018, the Raiders still managed just 32 sacks in 2019, tied for No. 24 in the NFL. You can’t have that when you deal with Patrick Mahomes twice a year.
Rousseau — who joined Parsons and Bateman as early opt-outs for the 2020 season — had 15.5 sacks last season, the second-highest total in the country behind Chase Young. His size and speed off the edge could be just what Vegas covets.
The Raiders will always look to continue to rebuild their defensive line and Rousseau could easily be worth a top-10 selection given his size and production at an incredibly young age. He is undoubtedly a player the team must consider if they are selecting that high.
However, if the Raiders are picking in the top-10, that means something went incredibly wrong during the 2020 season. Likely, that means they didn’t get enough production from their quarterbacks. If the Raiders pick inside the top-10 again, look for them to potentially target a quarterback, such as Justin Fields or Trey Lance.
