With less than a week until the draft, the Raiders have two glaring roster needs: right tackle and free safety.
Raiders GM Mike Mayock offered the notion on Thursday that Jeff Heath could be the Raiders starting free safety this year (which isn’t particularly believable), but his dark horse to win the job at right tackle was a little more fascinating (and maybe a little unbelievable, too).
“You ask me about right tackle, we’ve got a guy named Jaryd Jones-Smith who we signed off the street last year who we think has a chance to be a really good football player. We’re kind of excited about him,” Mayock told reporters via a virtual call on Thursday.
Of course Mayock can’t come out and say the Raiders are going into the draft with huge holes in the roster, but it was interesting that he referenced Jones-Smith over Brandon Parker. Most had assumed that Parker, who is entering his fourth NFL season, would be the team’s right tackle by default until the Raiders add a rookie or free agent at the position.
It doesn’t seem believable that the Raiders are ready to pass the torch to a right tackle who has never played an NFL down, but the unknown around Jones-Smith already makes him a lot more intriguing than Parker. Jones-Smith is young (25 years old), but he has size (6’7 345 pounds) and long arms, which we know is something offensive line coach Tom Cable values.
As far as the draft is concerned, it still seems like the most likely scenario is that the Raiders will draft an offensive tackle in the first two rounds. Jon Gruden values a strong offensive line and it’s hard to envision him trusting a player “off the street” to protect Derek Carr’s right side. As for Parker, it sounds like he might be sitting squarely on the roster bubble in the months ahead – especially if the Raiders take an offensive tackle in the draft.
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April 24, 2021 at 04:22AM
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Raiders Contingency Plan at Right Tackle: An Undrafted 25 Year-Old With Zero Offensive Snaps - raidersbeat.com
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