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Former Las Vegas Raiders general manager Mike Mayock had some big misses in the draft during his time with the team. The first pick he ever made as a general manager was selecting Clemson defensive end Clelin Ferrell with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. It was a questionable pick at the time and has only looked worse with age.
To Ferrell’s credit, he has been able to stick with the team for the past four seasons and even played key snaps in 2022. He’s a hard worker and does play well against the run. However, he has never proven that he can consistently rush the passer, which is what teams want from a defensive end drafted in the top five. Ferrell is set to be a free agent for the first time and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Raiders try to bring him back, but ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez believes that he needs to seek a fresh start this offseason:
It’s not Ferrell’s fault the Raiders used the No. 4 overall draft pick on him in 2019; edge rusher was their primary need that year and Ferrell was their second-ranked player at that position behind Nick Bosa, who went second in that draft. Ferrell’s production has dipped since he started 15 games as a rookie and had 4.5 sacks. In 15 combined games since, he has 5.5 sacks, with the Raiders bringing in Yannick Ngakoue and Chandler Jones the past two years to replace him. Ferrell has been a solid special teams player, but if he wants a fresh start, it would seemingly have to be somewhere else.
Should Raiders Try to Bring Ferrell Back?
A fresh start makes a lot of sense for Ferrell. If he goes to a new team, he’ll no longer have to carry the burden of playing for a team he was a draft bust for. Despite that, the Raiders may still entertain the idea of bringing him back. He had a role on the defense last season and there were times when he was taking snaps away from Pro Bowl defensive end Chandler Jones.
Ferrell will likely never be an elite pass rusher but he’s solid against the run. If the Raiders brought him back, they would no longer need to pay him top-five draft pick money. He had a nearly $10 million salary cap hit last season. That number will go way down if they sign him in free agency.
Ferrell Recently Said He’s a ‘Raider for Life’
Ferrell has expressed nothing but love for the Raiders. He didn’t live up to his draft status and was the subject of much criticism but he still has an appreciation for the franchise. He previously made it clear that he’ll always be connected to the team even if he moves on this offseason.
“It is not super stressful for me,” Ferrell told Sports Illustrated’s Hondo Carpenter in January about his approach to free agency. “You know I feel like I am a mature player, and a veteran in this league now. … You have to understand that business is a part of it, for me I have a really good agent and I feel like I have a really good base here. At the end of the day, I don’t think it matters what anyone has to say, I am a Raider for life. No fan, no coach, player, even my teammates couldn’t tell me anything different, so I think I am at peace with whatever happens.”
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