Kansas City Chiefs: How Did Rest of AFC West Fare in 2017 NFL Draft

OAKLAND RAIDERS

Best Pick: Obi Melifonwu, Safety (UCONN)

Lastly, we have theeeeee Raaaaaaiiiiidddddeeeeeerrrrsssss. Oakland learned from their 2016 season and spent all but three picks on defensive players.

I think out of the entire division, Oakland’s early picks were great, but their late round picks were a bit questionable.

The Raiders took a chance in the first round, grabbing Gareon Conley with the 24th overall pick. Some thought Conley might have been the best corner in the draft, but with the accusations surrounding him, teams shied away from drafting him.

In the second round, the Raiders shored up their secondary by drafting Obi Melifonwu out of Connecticut. Melifonwu is someone I would have liked to have seen in Kansas City, which sucks even more because now they’ll be seeing him for years down the road.

Something I didn’t get about Oakland’s draft was that they picked up two offensive linemen. The Raiders have one of the best o-lines in the entire league and I just didn’t see the point in adding depth to an already solid area.

I think out of the entire division, Oakland’s early picks were great, but their late round picks were a bit questionable. They did add a running back late, which probably would have been an earlier round selection had Marshawn Lynch not signed with them last week.

The Melifonwu pick was great and we’ll see how the situation with Conley pans out over these next few weeks. If Conley ends up playing, the Raiders could have a legitimate shutdown secondary in the coming years. That’d for sure give them a good grade in this draft.