Oakland Raiders: Five Worst Draft Day Whiffs Of The Reggie McKenzie Era

5. Andre Debose (WR/KR)

Granted, not a whole lot is usually expected of seventh round picks. But the fact that McKenzie burned a draft pick at all instead of waiting to harvest him from the crop of UDFA’s after the Draft shows that he had some small hope that Debose could have an impact.

Coming out of the University of Florida, Debose was initially expected to compete for a job returning kicks for the Raiders. It was something of a pressing need at the time.

At Florida, Debose averaged 26.7 yards a kickoff and 12.4 yards per punt return. It’s not hard to see why McKenzie thought he could have added a little punch to the kicking game. And with an average of 18 yards a reception over his college career, McKenzie no doubt, that he might even bring a little spark to the passing game.

Unfortunately, that potential all went by the boards as Debose never saw the field for the Raiders.

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During OTA’s in 2015, Debose suffered a torn Achilles and the club was forced to place him on injured reserve, ending his season long before it ever began. Debose was then waived/injured in May 2016, the potential McKenzie must have seen in him unfulfilled.

He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts and placed on the practice squad in July 2016, but was waived about two weeks later. In February 2017, he signed a deal with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL, but was then placed on their retired list in May.

Debose had plenty of potential and upside, unfortunately, his health prevented him from ever being able to tap into it on the NFL level.