Raiders 2024 NFL draft preview: Which direction will Las Vegas go?
HENDERSON, Nev. — Maxx Crosby was a fourth-round draft choice of the Raiders in 2019, when the franchise called Oakland home and when he was a clean-shaven baby face with dyed-blonde hair. Crosby was selected No. 106 overall out of mid-major Eastern Michigan and has those digits tattooed in red ink and underlined on the inside of his right elbow to remind him from whence he came.
So yeah, the Raiders’ three-time Pro Bowl edge rusher takes a personal interest in the NFL draft every year, especially with Las Vegas holding the No. 13 pick. Crosby knows what he wants to see in a Raiders draft pick going forward.
“I look at the things that require zero talent,” Crosby said at the start of the Raiders’ voluntary offseason workout program. “Everybody’s talented in the NFL, everyone’s got ability. The things that matter to me are dudes that are consistent, and they’ve got relentless effort. Dudes that are curious and continuously looking to find ways to improve. I don’t give a s— if you went to Alaska State Technical Institute or Nebraska or LSU. … At the end of the day, I want dudes who love this s—, and you can’t fake it.
“That’s what I look for when I’m watching film. … All the rest of the stuff you clean it up along the way. But I think it just starts with effort and consistency.”
No doubt that’s what coach Antonio Pierce and new general manager Tom Telesco are also looking for, regardless of position — that intensity and love for the game. And with a scheduled eight picks, Las Vegas is in position to address real and specific roster holes.
But while quarterback is front and center, the Raiders also have glaring needs at right tackle and cornerback that could be addressed early in the draft.
“As far as roster construction, there’s no one specific way to build a team,” Telesco said in his introductory media conference in January. “Everybody always says that anyways, but I do believe in the draft. But you also have to supplement that with free agency. You have to supplement that with trades. You have to supplement that with signing players that maybe are out of work or are on the street looking for jobs and see if they can come in and fit.”
We have gone over the Raiders QB quandary ad nauseum already, and Telesco commented on how so many quarterbacks in the class being college transfers might impact his evaluation.
“There are just so many … you just have to deal with it,” he said at the combine. “If this was 15, 20 years ago … a little bit more of a red flag. It really isn’t anymore. It does take us a little bit more time as we do our background research because you have to go to multiple schools, talk to multiple scouts … but I don’t see that as a red flag for kids transferring.”
The extra COVID year has also led to more disparity in the ages of prospects, which shows with the top quarterbacks on the board.
While North Carolina’s Drake Maye and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy are both 21 years old and only played at one school, USC’s Caleb Williams is 22 and also played at Oklahoma. LSU’s Jayden Daniels — who began his college career at Arizona State — and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., who also played at Indiana, are 23. Oregon’s Bo Nix, who transferred from Auburn, is 24.
