Oakland Raiders: Initial grade and analysis of Johnathan Abram

The Oakland Raiders selected Mississippi State safety Johnathan Abram with the No. 27 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Here are our initial grade and analysis of the pick.

With the last of their three first-round picks, the Oakland Raiders decided to address their secondary — something that would become a common theme throughout the draft — with the selection of Mississippi State safety Johnathan Abram.

Abram is a physical, downhill safety who emerged as a legitimate borderline first-round prospect after a stellar senior season that saw him rack up a team-leading 99 tackles, five pass deflections, three sacks, and two interceptions. The 22-year-old was named first-team All-SEC by the media and second-team by the coaches for his play in 2018.

A former Georgia recruit, Abram played his freshman season with the Bulldogs before transferring to Jones County Community College due to the departure of his defensive coordinator and personal issues. After a season back in his home state of Mississippi, Abram decided to stay home and transfer to Mississippi State where he would spend the next two seasons honing his craft.

The Raiders absolutely needed help in their secondary, but was Abram the right pick to make? Let’s dive in and try and figure it out.

National Reaction

The Verdict

The Raiders entered the draft looking for some much-needed secondary help. And while it was nice to see the team go safety in the first round, the player that they took is ultimately a bit confusing.

Abram is a very good player, there’s no mistaking that.

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He was likely the hardest hitting safety in the entire class and is a menace near and around the line of scrimmage. The Mississippi State product brings the physicality of a linebacker and the athleticism of a defensive back while carrying with him a reputation of being a high-character team-leader.

He just doesn’t make too much sense with the Raiders.

Abram’s skill set is simply too similar to current strong safety Karl Joseph‘s and it’ll be interesting to see how the Raiders opt to use both of them. Newly signed defensive back Lamarcus Joyner could compete for the free safety role but it’s more likely that the team uses him more as a true nickel back.

Veteran Erik Harris started a handful of games last season at the position but it’s hard to see him as an every-down starter going into the season. That will likely leave either Joseph or Abram playing out of position which is not an ideal scenario for the team.

The Raiders would have been better off going after a free-safety type like Nasir Adderley or at least a safety with more accomplished coverage skills.

It’s understandable to like the talent of Abram and it’s even more understandable to love his character, but it’s also very fair to question if this was the correct pick to make in this spot. Abram is a high-caliber, high-character prospect, but the team could’ve used a safety prospect with more impressive coverage skills and range.

Still, it should be exciting to see how the team opts to deploy the combination of Joseph and Abram on the back end. At the very least, there should be no shortage of physicality in the Raiders defense this season.

Oakland is about to bring the boom.

Final Grade: C