Oakland Raiders: Re-Drafting the 2017 class using the power of hindsight
By Kevin Saito
Round 4 (129) – David Sharpe
Yeah, the Raiders need some added depth on the offensive line. Especially, given the fact that Donald Penn is going to be 35, and although he’s still effective, his best days are behind him, and their situation at right tackle has been critical for a few years now.
You can never have too many healthy and effective offensive linemen, right? Which was likely why they used the one hundred and twenty-ninth overall pick on David Sharpe. He was expected to compete with Marshall Newhouse for the starting nod, and although he appeared in five games – even making two starts – Sharpe was far from effective on the right side of that line.
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They took another tackle in seventh-round pick Jylan Ware, and he appeared in just one game for the Silver and Black – and was obviously very much a project. Vadal Alexander, a 2016 seventh-round pick, is probably the best of the backup bunch, and he’s been nothing to write home about either.
Basically, the Raiders are going to need to address the problems with offensive line depth, but they appear to have taken a big swing and a miss by picking up Sharpe.
With the power of re-drafting hindsight though, we’re going to use that fourth-round pick (one hundred and twenty-ninth overall) on the other side of the ball and add some depth and power to an area of need.
With that pick, we’ll take defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. (Rd. 4, one hundred thirty-first overall, New England)
Scouting Report. Defensive End. player. University of Arkansas. Deatrich Wise, Jr.. 129. 28. Pick Analysis
At six-foot-five, 274 pounds, the Patriots used Wise on the interior and on the edge of their defensive line. He appeared in all 16 games for New England, making three starts. And though he wasn’t on the field a ton, he was impactful when he was, registering 26 total tackles (16 solo), a pass defensed, and five sacks.
Given Oakland’s lack of pass rushing punch and the dearth of sacks by anybody not named Khalil Mack or Bruce Irvin, having a big, physical body like Wise could have been a big boon for this defense.