Oakland Raiders: Post-free agency four-round mock draft
By Kevin Saito
Pick Analysis. EDGE. Duke Ejiofor. player. 28. Scouting Report. Wake Forest. 75
The Raiders are in dire need of a legit pass rusher to pair with Khalil Mack, reports are circulating that the team will be moving Bruce Irvin to a primarily defensive end position – a move Irvin seems particularly excited about.
The Raiders have Mack on one side and Irvin on the other – and backing them up will be James Cowser (who’s done well in very limited opportunities, but still isn’t dominant), Mario Edwards Jr. (who hasn’t come close to panning out as anything other than a rotational guy), and Jihad Ward (no – just no).
Eventually, they’re going to need to get another quality edge rusher on the roster.
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Which is why the team will address the position with the seventy-fifth overall pick and take Wake Forest’s Duke Ejiofor.
At six-foot-four, 275 pounds, Ejiofor has very good size to be out on the edge – he’s not going to get mauled by those big offensive tackles – and has decent enough speed (4.7 in the 40).
As a senior at Wake Forest, Ejiofor had 43 tackles (27 solo), 17 for a loss, a pair of forced fumbles, and seven sacks. Over his four year career at Wake, Ejiofor had 43.5 tackles for a loss (with 34 of those coming in his junior and senior seasons as a regular starter, and 24 total sacks (17.5 of those coming as a junior and senior).
Given that he played at Wake Forest, he was a mostly under-the-radar prospect. But, he put up some decent numbers and showed the ability to be a disruptive force on the defensive line. Ejiofor is also versatile enough to play inside, should the need arise, and has the power and quickness to beat interior linemen.
Though he needs a little polish to his game still, Ejiofor could be a very solid, very good value pick in the third round.