Five Late Round Prospects Oakland Raiders Should Target

Deiondre’ Hall, Safety, Northern Iowa

Charles Woodson is a first ballot Hall of Famer. He played his first four and final three seasons with Oakland, and his final season may have been his best with the Raiders as he intercepted five passes and added 59 tackles on his way to his ninth and final Pro Bowl.

His retirement left a big hole in the secondary for the 2016 Oakland Raiders.

The Raiders filled one safety spot with former Bengal Reggie Nelson. The 10-year veteran was tied with rookie Marcus Peters for the league lead in interceptions with eight. Nelson still has a lot left in the tank and should be the leader of the Raiders’ secondary.

Across from Nelson is currently Larry Asante. Asante has been in the league for five seasons playing for the Buccaneers, Colts and Raiders. In his time, he has corralled just one interception. That’s a testament to his games played as he has only appeared in 39 games but only started two.

In his lone year with the Raiders (last season), Asante appeared in all 16 games and actually started two. He defended two passes and had 16 tackles.

Asante doesn’t have much starting experience which may be an issue for the Raiders. The team may look to add a strong safety in the earlier rounds in the draft to replace him. Or the team could decide to draft a safety in the later rounds and mold him into a starter while letting Asante get experience.

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One player the Raiders should look at is Deiondre’ Hall out of Northern Iowa.

Hall stands 6’2″ and weighs 199 pounds. Right off the bat, his size impresses as he is only shorter than one safety (Ohio State’s Tyvis Powell) in the 2016 draft.

Hall also has a decent amount of athleticism to match his frame. He was not invited to the combine, but he did have an impressive pro day. He ran his 40-yard dash in 4.62 seconds, which would’ve put him tied for ninth among all safeties. He also had a broad jump of 10’7″ that would’ve tied him for third, a vertical jump of 37 inches that would put him tied for tied for fifth, and a 7.07-second three cone drill that would’ve put him in seventh place.

Hall was a standout defensive player at Northern Iowa earning Honorable Mention MVFC in his 2013 season and jumping to second team all MVFC in his 2014 season. That 2014 season Hall managed 74 tackles, six pass breakups and a Mountain Valey Conference-leading five interceptions.

Hall was also versatile, being able to play not only safety, but cornerback and even linebacker. His versatility benefits him and would allow him to play a hybrid role on defense much like Shaq Thompson of the Carolina Panthers.

Hall’s weaknesses is that he is underdeveloped. His foot work is not keen and he does a poor job on analyzing routes. Also, with a 6’2″ frame he would need to bulk up from his 199-pound frame.

But Hall’s footwork and route anticipation can be fixed. Hall comes from a small conference, but with his large frame and versatility he could end up being a sneaky rotation player for the Raiders in the near future.

Next: Defensive End