Getty Former Raiders LB Tanner Muse.
The Las Vegas Raiders‘ draft misses in recent years have been a popular talking point lately with the NFL draft approaching. There’s no doubt that the Raiders have been among the worst drafting teams in the league for several years now. While they’ve had a number of notable first-round draft busts, they’ve also had many in later rounds.
One of the worst draft classes in recent memory came in 2020. Out of seven players selected, fourth-round pick Amik Robertson is the only player still on the team from the class. Some players from the class didn’t even play a game for the team. Third-round pick Tanner Muse missed his entire rookie season and then was cut the following year. Third-round picks typically aren’t a very good thing to waste. He made his way to the Seattle Seahawks and played every game last season. He’s not heading East. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Muse is signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers are surprisingly thin at linebacker heading into 2023. Muse will have a chance to play a lot of games for the team. He’ll at the very least have a role on special teams.
Raiders Can’t Afford to Keep Wasting Picks
Mike Mayock was the general manager of the Raiders when they made the Muse pick and he’s no longer with the team. Current general manager Dave Ziegler shouldn’t be held accountable for the mistakes of his predecessors but there’s no questioning that Mayock put him in a tough position. Ziegler really can’t afford to miss on high draft picks. Mayock wasted so many picks and now the Raiders are paying for it.
There’s very little room for Ziegler to fail. If the Raiders fail to find impact players in the upcoming draft, they will be in for a very bad season. Las Vegas has 12 draft picks to work with so there’s plenty of opportunity to find good players. Ziegler now has a year under his belt and the scouting department is how he wants it. There’s no reason the team can’t put together a solid draft class. Mayock tried to outsmart everybody by reaching for players much earlier than they were expected to be selected. Sometimes there’s a reason why players are expected to be higher draft picks and it’s about finding a balance. The hope is that Zielger can find that balance better than Mayock ever could.
Raiders Met With LB Prospect Daiyan Henley
The Raiders lost Pro Bowl linebacker Denzel Perryman in free agency so it’s a major position of need. The only notable addition the team made was the signing of Robert Spillane but he has only started in 16 games over five seasons. The team is likely to address the position in the draft. According to KPRC 2’s, Aaron Wilson, the Raiders hosted Washington State linebacker Daiyan Henley.
Henley started off his college career as a wide receiver at Nevada before transferring to Washington State and converting to linebacker. He’s likely to be a Day 2 or 3 pick so the Raiders could target him later in the draft. Henley thrives as a run defender but still has work to do in coverage. Las Vegas needs a linebacker who can cover so if they don’t think Henley has the potential to improve that part of his game, they will likely go in a different direction.