Oakland Raiders: Grading Out The Team’s 2016 Draft Class

The Oakland Raiders finished filling out their rookie class with the conclusion of the NFL Draft – now, it’s time to put grades to Reggie McKenzie‘s draft picks.

With the conclusion of the NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders have seven new faces in their locker room. For McKenzie, it was clear that this was a draft conducted not with glaring needs guiding the way, but with building depth and an eye toward the future as the goal. With that philosophy apparently guiding him as the draft progressed, McKenzie made some interesting, perhaps even odd selections with his picks that caught quite a few people off guard.

But now that the we’re a couple of days removed from the draft and emotions are ebbing, we’ve had a little time and more importantly, a little distance to sort through and digest what went down during the festivities. More importantly, we’re able to separate the mental wheat from the emotional chaff and give a more fair analysis of McKenzie’s draft picks.

Though many of the talking heads thought the Raiders did a fairly good job of adding depth and players with huge upside in the draft, much of the notoriously outspoken Raider Nation was less than impressed with McKenzie’s rookie haul.

More from Las Vegas Raiders News

• Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
• Raiders: Bryan Edwards out, Henry Ruggs doubtful for Sunday
• Raiders: Damon Arnette re-injures thumb, could be headed to IR
• Raiders fall short in letdown Week 3 loss to the New England Patriots
• Raiders: Game breakdown and prediction for Week 3 at New England Patriots

Admittedly, on the surface, some of McKenzie’s picks look like real head scratchers. But when you look at Oakland’s roster and then at their rookie class, you can start to see where all of the pieces fit. That doesn’t mean every pick was a slam dunk. Not by any stretch of the imagination. But that doesn’t mean that because it wasn’t the sexiest pick, or the biggest name on the board, it was a waste of a draft pick.

Unlike previous drafts, the Raiders weren’t looking for automatic impact players. They weren’t needing players to step in and contribute on day one. McKenzie has filled the roster with enough talent that he could take a different approach to this draft – an approach that allows him to add some depth and players whom the coaching staff can take a little time to develop.

While the draft may have left some wanting, it is a testament to just how far along the franchise has come.

We obviously won’t know how this year’s draft class pans out for some time yet. And because of that, it’s tough to assign grades to most of McKenzie’s draft picks. But what fun is it to wait?

Now that we’ve had a few days to digest it all, let’s grade out the Raiders’ draft class.

Next: Grading Out The Picks