Getty Jon Gruden of the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Las Vegas Raiders decided to take it easy on day three of the NFL Draft. They only selected twice in the fourth round and skipped the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds. General manager Mike Mayock said that they decided to call it a day early because it will be hard for late-round rookies to make the team due to some of the offseason changes.
Fortunately, there will be a litany of undrafted free agents for the Raiders to choose from. According to Mark Anderson of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the team is signing former UNLV defensive back/linebacker Javin White.
White will be staying close to home as UNLV isn’t far from where the Raiders will be playing. He’s a versatile player and accumulated a lot of tackles over his four years with the Runnin’ Rebels.
White Wanted to Be First UNLV Player Drafted in Almost a Decade
Unfortunately for White, he didn’t reach his goal of being drafted. It’s been nine long years since a player from UNLV was drafted to the NFL. Offensive lineman Joe Hawley was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round in 2010. He is no longer in the NFL.
Prior to the draft, White was set on hearing his name called.
“I think about it every day,” White told KNTV before the draft.
He was convinced he was going to break the undrafted streak for UNLV.
“I feel like deep down, I am going to break it, and I think that’s the biggest thing that makes me anxious is because it’s not just always about me. It’s about the UNLV community. It’s about Las Vegas, you know to say that someone got drafted out of here. It’s just everything,” said White.
White’s an athlete and his versatility makes for an intriguing pickup.
“For an NFL team to pick me up, they’ll understand that I’m a competitor at the end of the day and I’m coming there to make your team better,” said White.
While White will certainly be disappointed he didn’t end up getting draft, he at least gets to stay close to him and represent Las Vegas.
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Raiders Have Been Very Good to Undrafted Free Agents
White may have stumbled into the perfect situation. The Raiders didn’t have any picks in the last three rounds and didn’t seem very interested in adding any. That would’ve taken White to the Raiders off the table had he been drafted. He now gets to stay close to home and play for a team that loves undrafted free agents.
Some of the team’s biggest contributors weren’t drafted. Just last year, Alec Ingold signed with the team after draft and became a Pro Bowl alternate as a rookie. Tyrell Williams and Jalen Richard are also impact players for the team who were never drafted. The Raiders value players who work hard and if White can standout in training camp, he’ll have a good shot of making the team. Las Vegas struggled on defense last season. A versatile defender with a ton of experience like White could be a contributor to the team.
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Raiders Sign Former Versatile UNLV Linebacker: Report