Getty Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels.
The Las Vegas Raiders may use their first-round pick on a quarterback in the draft but if one they like isn’t available, they’ll likely go after the defensive player available. Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter is widely considered the best defensive player in the draft. A couple of months ago, there’s no way the Raiders could’ve landed him without trading up.
However, a number of character concerns have arisen and there’s a chance he’ll start to slip down many draft boards. The Atheltic’s Vic Tafur reported that the Raiders would not take Carter if he fell to them at No. 7. Considering Carter is one of the most-talked-about players in the draft, Tafur’s report made the rounds all over social media.
Prior to the draft, Las Vegas isn’t going to want to tip its hand regarding any player. Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal was able to ask head coach Josh McDaniels about the Carter rumor and he said that it was not true. The team continues to look into the defensive lineman, per McDaniels.
Just spoke to Josh McDaniels & he reiterated what he told reporters about Jalen Carter on Monday. Contrary to a recent report, the @Raiders are doing their due diligence on Carter, who remains on their draft board. Carter will meet with Raiders as one of their 30 visits in April
Just six minutes before Bonsignore tweeted out his conversation with McDaniels, Tafur did predict that the team would have a “rebuttal soon,” which he was quickly proven right.
It’s also worth noting that Raiders offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor called out Tafur and suggested he doesn’t have any inside information.
It will be impossible to know for sure if Tafur is correct until the draft but if Carter gets drafted before No. 7, it’ll be difficult to prove him right or wrong.
Carter Taken Before Raiders in Multiple Mock Drafts
While there are serious concerns with Carter, he may just be too talented for teams to pass up. There’s still time for teams to do a lot of digging and they may find reasons to draft him high or reasons to take him off their board entirely. For now, many expect Carter to be selected within the top-five picks.
In fact, mock drafts from The Athletic, Bleacher Report, ESPN and NFL.com all have Carter getting selected by the Seattle Seahawks at No. 5. That would keep the Raiders from even having to make a decision on him. A lot can still happen between now and the draft but early signs point to Carter still getting drafted high.
Raiders Need to Have Good Draft
The inherent risk of drafting Carter might keep the Raiders away from him. If the team had a better draft record, they may be able to afford the risk but not this year. The team hasn’t had a good draft in almost a decade, according to owner Mark Davis.
“We’ve had one good draft since I took over, and that was in 2014, when we got Derek and Khalil [Mack],” Davis told Tafur. “Other than that, we haven’t done a good job, and that’s something that it takes to build a sustainable winner.”
The 2014 draft helped turn the Raiders around briefly but subsequent poor drafts quickly sunk the ship. The team needs to have a good draft this year but also needs to sustain from year to year. The Raiders are consistently one of the worst drafting teams in the NFL. If general manager Dave Ziegler can turn things around, the team could be in much better shape quickly.