Oakland Raiders: One EDGE target in every round of the 2019 NFL Draft

Just a couple of months ago, it would have been crazy to project Jachai Polite in the third round of this year’s draft. But after a disastrous NFL Combine, scouts have major concerns about Polite’s character and commitment that have caused him to fall to a projected mid-to-late Day 2 pick.

While the concerns regarding his character are evident, so is his immense talent.

After all, there’s a reason that Polite was considered a consensus top-15 player at one point before his downfall. The Florida edge may be the most explosive athlete at the edge rusher position in this year’s class as his first-step may be the deadliest I’ve personally ever seen.

Polite’s initial burst looks like he had been shot out of a cannon as he explodes out of his stance and often past opposing offensive tackles. He is as “twitchy” of an athlete as they come and utilizes that athleticism to bend around the corner with ease. The junior notched 11 sacks in his final collegiate season and was voted a First-Team All-SEC selection following his impressive year.

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But the concerns are obviously there.

Polite reportedly showed up to Indianapolis out of shape for the combine and ran a 4.84 40-yard dash time, second-slowest out of all edge defenders who participated. Moreover, his comments following the interview process raised a lot of eyebrows and the word around the league is that he rubbed many teams the wrong way.

Some also have concerns that he isn’t as scheme-versatile as others but personally, I don’t think it’s nearly as big of an issue. Let him add on a few more pounds and pull a Takkarist McKinley-like transition to the NFL and he could continue to play 4-3 defensive end no problem.

The other concerns regarding his character are there, but in the third round, it would be nearly impossible to pass up on this type of talent. Of course, this would require the Raiders actually acquiring a third-round selection, but as stated earlier, trades can and likely will happen so you never know what could manifest.