Oakland Raiders: Handing out grades for the team’s 2018 draft picks
By Kevin Saito
28. Scouting Report. 65. player. Pick Analysis. Offensive Tackle. North Carolina A&T. Brandon Parker
Gruden, continuing with his mission to build up the trenches, flipped a couple of picks to move up to the top of the third-round to grab Brandon Parker out of North Carolina A&T.
While the strategy of strengthening the lines and giving Carr adequate protection is the right one, the way the team went about adding rookies needs to be called into serious question.
Parker was graded out as a projected fourth to fifth round prospect. Like Miller, Parker is a mammoth man, standing six-foot-eight and clocking in at 305 pounds. His Combine wasn’t anywhere nearly as good as Miller’s, but it was respectable.
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Parker has strength, length, and terrific agility and mobility for a man his size. Despite that though, there are some glaring deficiencies to his game and is viewed as more of a project than anything at this point.
With the right coaching, Parker can improve his technique, enabling him to handle NFL pass rushers, but it’s going to be a process. He’s not a day one starter at this point.
Depth is a valuable commodity, of course, but in Vadal Alexander, Jylan Ware, David Sharpe – talented guys who are still trying to refine their technique – they seem to have a surplus of guys who are projects already. And oh yeah, they also have Breno Giacomini who’s already hit his ceiling – and it wasn’t all that high to begin with.
Adding Parker to that group though, seems superfluous – especially at the spot they picked him at. It was a thin class at tackle this year and guys (like Miller) were obviously getting snapped up a lot higher than their talent-level dictated they should. Parker is no exception there.
For a third-round pick that you gave up draft capital to acquire, you usually want more than just a project. You usually want more than a guy who adds depth. You usually want a player who can step in and contribute right away. And they don’t seem to have gotten that in Parker.
GRADE: D