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

4. Max Valles (DE)

At 6’4”, 250 lbs., Valles was a little light for a defensive end. But he was powerful and athletic – something a pass rush needy Raiders team desperately needed. Valles spent two seasons at Virginia and though he didn’t post completely eye-popping stats, he showed enough – recording nine sacks as a sophomore – to warrant McKenzie taking a flier on him.

In the 2015 Draft, McKenzie made Valles Oakland’s sixth round pick. A project to be sure, but one with the potential to be a real diamond in the rough. He was stout against the run, had a penchant for knocking down passes at the line of scrimmage, and being a disruptive force off the edge, recording 12.5 tackles for a loss in 2014.

Valles was definitely a project pick, to be sure. And he unfortunately, didn’t show out well enough in camp to justify a spot on the final 53-man roster in 2015. Oakland waived him, but then re-signed him to the team’s practice squad in September.

His stay on the practice squad wasn’t a long one as the Buffalo Bills poached him, signing him away from the Raiders in December of that year. He made it through Buffalo’s training camp, but was part of the team’s final cuts as they moved to the 53-man roster in September 2016.

Valles signed a reserve/futures contract with Buffalo this past January, hoping to make the cut this year.

While not the biggest of busts, given that he was on the board until the sixth round, it was yet another pick from that 2015 draft class that didn’t quite pan out for McKenzie and the Raiders.