Raiders diversify attack with versatile athletes on second night of NFL Draft

By Case Keefer (contact)

Published Friday, April 24, 2020 | 7:45 p.m.

Updated Friday, April 24, 2020 | 11:52 p.m.

Lynn Bowden Jr. starred as a quarterback in the final eight games of his career at Kentucky.

In the previous season, he was the Wildcats’ leading receiver. If those two positions weren’t enough, he also spent some time at running back as an underclassman.

So where does the 5-foot-11, 214-pound well-rounded offensive weapon see himself playing for Las Vegas Raiders after the team took him with the 80^th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft on Friday night?

“Whatever they need me to play,” Bowden said. “I’m not set on one position. I’m trying to win as many games as we can, win a championship.”

The Raiders will use Bowden as a running back initially, according to general manager Mike Mayock, with hopes to expand his duties if he proves worthy. As last year’s Paul Hornung Award winner for being the most versatile player in college football, Bowden was a fitting headliner of Las Vegas’ three-player haul in the second night of the draft.

The Raiders focused on flexibility with their trio of third-round selections as South Carolina wide receiver Bryan Edwards and Clemson linebacker/safety Tanner Muse joined Bowden at pick No. 81 and No. 100, respectively.

“We’re trying to do more than just draft guys who play one thing,” Mayock said. “Versatility is important.”

No one in the draft has shown an ability to do more different things than Bowden. If everything goes according to plan, coach Jon Gruden would eventually like to use Bowden as a “joker,” a player who can line up anywhere from running back to tight end to slot receiver.

The Raiders’ roster hasn’t featured the right player to fill the complete potential of the role since Gruden was rehired two years ago, but Bowden appears to have all the tools. The Youngstown, Ohio, native said Gruden had already shared some of his long-term offensive visions with him.

“He said he wants to do a lot of things with me,” Bowden said, “and I’m ready to get on board.”

Mayock also mentioned using Bowden as a punt returner, which means he’ll likely be sharing the field with Muse. The 6-foot-2, 227-pound Muse projects as part of the Raiders’ long-term plans on defense but is more guaranteed to make an impact on special teams as a rookie — and he knows it.

Asked what he would bring to the Raiders, Muse described himself as a “special teams war daddy.”

“I’m super blessed to be a part of such a great organization,” Muse said. “It’s been one of the dream teams for a long time with the way they’ve always carried themselves through the year, and the swag they bring week in and week out.”

Much like Bowden, Muse will be playing a different primary position in the NFL than he did in college — at least to start. He was a safety for the Tigers but excelled more in run-support and edge-rushing than pass-coverage to make his professional prospects more promising at linebacker.

That’s where Mayock intends for the Raiders’ staff to use Muse.

“The role for him Day 1 is to be a core special teams player,” Mayock said. “While he’s getting 20-25 snaps a game on special teams, he’s got to learn to play Mike and Will linebacker. We think he’s one of the smartest and most intuitive players in the draft and we expect him to learn both positions.”

Edwards’ role with the Raiders would seem to be more immediately evident than his draft classmates, but he’s far from one-dimensional, according to Mayock. Las Vegas selected Edwards as a way to balance out the passing game it hopes to employ at Allegiant Stadium for the next few seasons.

The Raiders got their speedy, big-play pass-catcher in the first round with Henry Ruggs III. In the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Edwards, they found a player that fits the opposite profile.

“He’s that big, physical, tough wide receiver on the opposite side (of Ruggs),” Mayock said. “We think he can win one-on-one matchups and we loved his production in the SEC. The big picture is we wanted to get more dynamic on offense, and that’s what we did here.”

South Carolina has produced some high-level receivers in recent years — including former second-round picks Alshon Jeffrey and Sidney Rice — and yet Edwards owns most of the program’s receiving record book.

He has the most receptions (234), receiving yards (3,045) and consecutive games with a reception (48) in Gamecocks’ history.

“I just feel like it’s the mindset I play with that I won’t let one person tackle me,” Edwards said. “Just trying to get as many yards as I can with the ball in my hand and try to score every time, I touch the ball.”

Mayock was overwhelmingly positive with how the second day of the draft played out, and it wasn’t only because of the additions of Bowden, Edwards and Muse. He also came into the night hoping to add another pick for Saturday’s final day of the draft and pounced on the opportunity when the New England Patriots came calling for the Raiders’ No. 91 overall pick.

Las Vegas was still able to pick up its target, Muse, despite dropping back nine spots and scored a fourth-round pick, No. 139 overall, from New England. The Raiders now have two fourth-round selections — also No. 121 — and a fifth-round selection — No. 179 — for Saturday’s proceedings, which begin at 9 a.m. on ESPN.

Mayock was tempted to trade up to the second round on a couple of occasions when players dropped too far, but he and Gruden preached patience going into the draft and decided to stick to it. Patience sits right next to speed and versatility as the foremost themes of the Las Vegas Raiders’ first-ever draft through three rounds.

“At the end of the day, I think we’re getting faster on both sides of the ball. We got a bunch of really competitive kids in this draft so far, and that’s what I think we’re really excited about. It’s played out the way we hoped it would.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.