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A behind-the-scenes look at the NFL draft's green room outside the main theater area photographed on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. The NFL draft will be held in Detroit later this week. A behind-the-scenes look at the NFL draft's green room outside the main theater area photographed on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. The NFL draft will be held in Detroit later this week.

NFL Draft Grades: Raiders Attack Offensive Line On Day 2

Originally posted on Raiders Newswire | By Jeff Spiegel | Last updated 4/28/24

But what about their needs? This was the common refrain lobbed at the Las Vegas Raiders by skeptics and critics on Thursday night after they selected tight end Brock Bowers midway through the first round. Well, good news for those folks on Friday night: no questions about positional preference in Rounds 2 and 3.

Coming into the draft, the Raiders had four clear needs at key positions: offensive tackle, cornerback, guard and quarterback. As tackles and corners flew off the board, the Raiders stayed put at No. 44 and drafted Jackson Powers-Johnson — a guard/center out of the University of Oregon.

For a long time, Powers-Johnson was a guy who was being mocked in the back half of the first round as the draft’s top interior lineman, highlighting the value the Raiders got with a guy who likely slots into the starting spot at right guard. At 6’3″ and 328 pounds, Powers-Johnson was a unanimous All-American at center for the Ducks, garnering social media popularity for his consistent stream of pancakes. Despite just one year of starting experience (he sat behind 2023 draftee Alex Forsyth), Powers-Johnson finished the season at the Senior Bowl, where he dominated the competition — which is why many assumed he would be long gone by No. 44.

GRADE: A+

After securing the interior of their offensive line in the second, general manager Tom Telesco and head coach Antonio Pierce shifted their attention to Powers-Johnson’s right with Maryland Tackle Delmar Glaze. After eight tackles saw their names called on night one, Glaze was the seventh to be selected on Friday evening — which was partly why I was so surprised to see him picked. After grabbing back-to-back players who were consensus steals at their slot, Glaze was pegged as a reach by just about every draft ranking list you could find.

The good news? He has all the things you can’t teach — he’s 6’4″ and 315 pounds with nearly a seven-foot wingspan — and has positional versatil,ity having played both tackle spots (with the assumption being he could slide inside to guard at the next level if tackle doesn’t work out).

It’s also worth pointing out that according to NFL.com Draft Expert Daniel Jeremiah, the third round is right about where things were expected to get weird:

Most of the league agrees on the 40-50 top players in this class. After that, it becomes a flavor draft. You are going to see players go in the 50’s that some teams have as 6th round players. The grades are all over the map.

— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) April 26, 2024

With all this considered, this is a pick that I could see going either way in the next 12 months. Could the Raiders coach Glaze up into a well-developed right tackle by the time his rookie season finishes? Possible. Could he be Brandon Parker 2.0 as a career swing tackle whoalso fill in at guard well? Also possible.

GRADE: C-

Looking ahead to Day 3 of the draft, the Raiders have five more picks — one in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds, plus two in the seventh round. While there are still needs on the roster, we’ve reached the point in the draft where the hope isn’t to solve problems as much as it is to just draft guys who make the roster. Some names to keep an eye on: South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler is still on the board, as are cornerback TJ Tampa, safety Jaden Hicks and a trio of Powers-Johnson’s Oregon Ducks teammates: defensive tackle Brandon Dorlus, cornerback Khyree Jackson and wide receiver Troy Franklin.

This article first appeared on Raiders Newswire and was syndicated with permission.

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