Oakland Raiders: Grading the 2019 NFL Draft class
By Justin Fried
Round 2 (40th Overall) — Trayvon Mullen, CB, Clemson
The Raiders continued their raid (no pun intended) of 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship talent with the selection of cornerback Trayvon Mullen here in the second round.
It’s no secret that the Raiders secondary struggled in 2018 and while some of that blame should be placed on the lack of a pass rush, the team didn’t exactly have the best play from their cornerbacks. That is, of course, outside of 2017 first-rounder Gareon Conley who had a breakout year of sorts.
But opposite Conley, the Raiders were in need of a promising No. 2 option on the boundary and they hope that they’ve landed that in Mullen. The Clemson product is a physical press corner who has ideal size and length to be an excellent starting cornerback in the NFL.
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Mullen still needs to work on refining the technical aspects of his game as he often gets caught flat-footed. That said, the physical potential is there and Mullen certainly fits the style of defense the team is looking to deploy.
It’s clear that Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock were looking to add high-character players with impressive pedigrees in the draft and by those standards, Mullen certainly fits the bill. The likes of Greedy Williams, Joejuan Williams, and Lonnie Johnson could have all been considered but if they were looking for physicality and press potential, Mullen definitely makes sense.
He may not be a player that will start Week 1, but he has enough potential to warrant a top-40 selection, even if it was a slight reach based on true talent. But in this case, team fit trumps talent valuation enough to salvage a good grade.