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Mike Mayock’s tenure as the Las Vegas Raiders‘ general manager has yielded some truly questionable draft picks. The first pick he ever made was selecting Clelin Ferrell as the No. 4 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. It looked like the wrong move at the time and that hasn’t changed over two years later.
In 32 career games, Ferrell has just 6.5 sacks. He’s essentially fallen out of the pass rush rotation this season. He has three combined tackles with no sacks in 2021. Ferrell is a hard-working player but it’s clear that he’s never going to be the elite defensive end the Raiders were hoping he’d be out of college.
Considering Ferrell isn’t making much of a difference this season, the team could consider trading him at the upcoming deadline. According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, the Raiders have already discussed the possibility.
“Speaking of draft busts, the Raiders have had discussions involving 2019’s fourth pick, Clelin Ferrell,” Breer wrote. “The ex-Clemson star has 6.5 sacks in 32 career games, and none to date in 2021.”
There’s no way the Raiders are going to get a great return for Ferrell but could aim to at least get something for him before they eventually let him go.
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Which Teams Could Be Interested in Ferrell?
GettyClelin Ferrell of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Ferrell’s status as a top-five draft pick makes it difficult for the Raiders to accept that he’s just a rotational player. However, another team won’t be expecting much from him. Perhaps he can thrive with a team where he doesn’t have nearly as much pressure. One team that’s been mentioned as a possible suitor in the past has been the Dallas Cowboys.
The team only has 11 sacks on the season and could use some help on the defensive line. Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn runs a very similar system to that of Gus Bradley so it would be an easy transition. Ferrell would have much more opportunity to make an impact in Dallas. We’ve seen another former Raiders first-round pick get traded to the Cowboys in Amari Cooper and improve his play.
The Arizona Cardinals could be another interesting team. Defensive line coach Brenston Buckner used to coach Ferrell with the Raiders and the two should be familiar with each other. Ferrell has always been a better run defender than a pass rusher and the Cardinals could use help in run defense. They are 22nd in the NFL in average rush yards allowed per game.
What Could Raiders Get for Ferrell?
Unfortunately for the Raiders, teams won’t be lining up to spend big to trade for a defensive end with 6.5 sacks in two and a half seasons. Also, there weren’t many people who saw Ferrell as a top draft pick when the team selected him. At this point, the Raiders would be lucky to get a late-round pick for the defensive end.
They’ll get nothing close to the same value of the pick they used to get him. Ferrell isn’t a terrible player, he’s just not an elite one. He can be useful to a team but that team likely isn’t going to the Raiders.
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