Raiders Preseason Rookie Review

by chiapet | 7 years ago | 1 Comments

Round 1, Pick 8: David Walker, MLB, USC

22 Tackles, 1 Tackle For Loss, 2 Ints

David Walker was drafted by the Raiders to be an instant starter in their defense. Their MLB position was a position of weakness for them last season. Walker has come in and been exactly what the Raiders had wanted him to be. He is performing great and this kid has the potential to be a superstar in this league.

Round 1, Pick 29: A.J Zahursky, T, Pitt

4 Sacks allowed through 3 ganes

Zahursky has been thrown right into the starting right tackle position for the Raiders and he is taking a little while to adjust to it. He was a LT in college so the position change has slightly affected his play. He has been progressively been getting better each week and looks like he may be a premier lineman in this league in the years to come.

Round 3, Pick 8: Couri Tucker, WR, Hawaii

9 Rec, 147 Rec Yards, 1 TD

Couri Tucker did not have the support of many NFL scouts as most of them predicted that he would be a bust in the league, but the Raiders saw something in him that nobody else saw. He's come into the league and produced just the way the Raiders thought he would. Tucker has large 6'6 frame that allows him to be a huge target for Derek Carr in the passing game. It looks as if the Raiders will be giving him a chance to start alongside Cooper as the start of the regular season. The Raiders hope this will be a dynamic duo that helps this offense even more.

Round 6, Pick 8: Dakieston McCree, CB, LSU

4 KR for 93 yards, 9 PR for 65 yards

The Raiders drafted McCree to be mainly a return man. He's come in and done decently well in the return game so far this preseason. It looks like he will be assuming all return duties when the season starts.

Round 6, Pick 25: Simon Ernster, FB, Tenn

1 Rush Att for 4 yards

What Ernster does so well does not appear in the stat sheets. This kid is already one of the best blocking fullbacks in the league already. Ersnster has almost unparralled blocking skillls as a fullback in this league and will be a big boost to the Raiders running game in the 2018 season. The Raiders believe this kid can be one of the best fullbacks in the league in just one or two years.

Round 7, Pick 8: Eldrin Waddy, WR, Michigan

2 Rec, 24 Rec Yards

Waddy has not had much of a chance to make a big impact in this offense as Couri Tucker has been drawing more attention, but this kid has shown some great flashes of potential. Waddy will get his shot at being a much bigger piece in the offense in the near future.

All in all, the Raiders 2018 draft class has performed pretty well so far in the preaseason and that is a good sign for the Raiders if they want to improve from their 4-12 record last season. It looks as if this draft class will make a big impact on this team.