Brock Bowers headlines a strong 2024 Raiders draft class

First year Raiders General Manager Tom Telesco’s first draft is officially in the books. Telesco and his crew of scouts and assistance had a unique hurdle to climb as it was their first time working as a collective group together. However, what came from that challenge was a strong draft that took the best player available approach mixed with athletically gifted prospects that if coached right could leave an immediate impact. After all eight picks were made, the split was 50-50. Four prospects on offense, four on defense.

Round 1

No. 13: Brock Bowers, Tight End, Georgia- The Raiders took the best player available approach here. The player in Bowers is an absolute weapon. A two-time national champion and a two-time John Mackey Award winner. He's the first and only tight end in the award's 23-year history to win the award twice and will go down as the greatest tight end in Georgia football history, and arguably the greatest college tight end ever. Bowers spent three seasons at Georgia, and they are some of the more statistically great stat lines at the position that we've seen. The interesting aspect of this pick is how he fits in with Michael Mayer. Mayer, another college tight end great, was Raiders second round pick from a year ago who wasn’t used a whole lot last year.

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Round 2

No. 44: Jackson Powers-Johnson, Guard, Oregon- The Raiders used a best player available approach as well, but Powers Johnson absolutely fits a need here and could slide in as a guard for the Raiders. Powers-Johnson was mostly a center at Oregon and won the Remington Award for best center. Powers-Johnson did play some snaps in college at guard. The Raiders announced him as a guard when they drafted him, and he will surely compete with free-agent addition Cody Whitehair to start as a rookie. I’d expect him to win the job. Andre James was just re-signed so like fellow college center Dylan Parham, Power-Johnson will play next James for the immediate future. The massive guard only allowed one qb pressure in 488 snaps. The guy is a brick wall. 

Round 3

No. 77: Delmar Glaze, Offensive Tackle, Maryland- Glaze seems like he is a developmental player. He has good feet, but he needs to work on his overall game and strength. He has 32 starts at tackle. And has played both sides right and left. He still looks like he will need to be developed on the pro level. He’s allowed 2.8% pressures allowed since 2021 7th most amongst tackles 

Round 4

No. 112: Decamerion Richardson, Cornerback, Mississippi State- He’s a throwback pick, one that the late Al Davis is in heaven smiling about. He’s 6’2 and runs a 4.34. As a cornerback Richardson led the SEC in tackles multiple times, he had 79 tackles and 7 pass breakups in 2023. He started 26 games in college though he has never had a college interception he has the size and speed to be an outside cornerback. 

Round 5

No. 148: Tommy Eichenberg, Linebacker, Ohio State- Eicheberg game is extremely similar to Raiders current linebacker Robert Spillane. He was a constant presence in the Ohio State defense. Eichenberg is a dog in the run game. He accounted for 120 tackles last season. He won Big Ten linebacker of the year.  He can serve to be better in coverage. However, he’s a nasty linebacker that’s a throwback. Eichenberg was at Ohio State with new Raiders’ assistant head coach Joe Philbin at Ohio State in 2023. Surely, Philbin had some good insight and spoke highly of Eichenberg during the Raiders’ draft process.

Round 6

No. 208: Dylan Laube, Running Back, New Hampshire- Will remind a lot of people of former Patriots and Chargers running back Danny Woodhead. ESPN’s Field Yates called him the best receiving back in the draft. He has natural hands and he led the FCS in all-purpose yards. He will also play a major part in special teams as a returner. His Central Michigan film where he had 295 all purpose yards is a microcosm of who he projects to be as a draft pick.

Round 7

No. 223: Trey Taylor, Safety, Air Force- Won the Jim Thorpe Award and has as a  high football IQ and can play either free or strong safety spots. Taylor’s cousin is NFL hall of famer Ed Reed. The one area of concern: Speed. He’s quick to diagnose and go but his long speed is a question mark. He has sharp instincts and will make an early impact on special teams.

No. 229: M.J. Devonshire, Cornerback, Pittsburgh- Devonshire is not only a solid cornerback, but he was also a good punt returner for Pitt during his collegiate career. Devonshire ended his career with eight interceptions and was a third-team All-ACC selection in his final season on campus. He’s a read and react corner.