Projecting the Las Vegas Raiders’ 53-man roster following the NFL Draft

By Case Keefer (contact)

Monday, April 27, 2020 | 2 a.m.

One positive about the Las Vegas Raiders not having any picks below the fourth round is that all of their selections from last week’s NFL Draft will almost certainly make the initial regular-season roster.

Barring injuries or unforeseen flameouts, the seven players who made up the franchise’s first-ever Las Vegas draft class should be in uniform whenever the Raiders kick off next season. Players selected in the final three rounds may have the odds have stacked against them like never before given the fact that teams may not see their rookies until training camp in July because of ongoing social-distancing measures.

“We had seven of the first 139 picks and that was a little bit of the thought process about not trying to trade down out of 139,” Raiders general manager Mike Mayock said. “The further down you get in the draft, the more concerns we had about a kid being able to compete, realistically compete to make the roster."

The Raiders will still have longshots around to provide competition as they seem all set to head into training camp with a full 90-man roster after reportedly agreeing to a handful of deals with undrafted free agents. But what will the first-ever Las Vegas Raiders’ opening-day roster actually look like?

Here’s the best guess for the 53-man roster following the NFL Draft. There are always surprises and complicating factors, but this is an attempt to figure out the most likely makeup of the team at a clearly-defined offseason mile-marker.

Quarterbacks (3): Derek Carr, Marcus Mariota & DeShone Kizer

There was a lot of talk about the Raiders taking a quarterback in the draft, but it never made much sense after the team sprung for Mariota with a pricy 2-year, $17.5 million deal as Carr's backup and insurance policy. The only interest here is who wins the emergency job between Kizer and Nathan Peterman, who spent last season on injured reserve. Let’s lean Kizer because of the way he improved in practice last year, eventually working his way up to Carr’s backup.

Running backs (4): Josh Jacobs, Lynn Bowden Jr., Jalen Richard, Alec Ingold

This is pretty cut and dried. Jacobs is the featured back, if not the focal point of the offense. Ingold is entrenched at fullback. Bowden and Richard will be used in a variety of ways.

Wide receivers (6): Tyrell Williams, Henry Ruggs III, Hunter Renfrow, Bryan Edwards, Nelson Agholor, Zay Jones

If rookies Ruggs and Edwards are as skilled as Mayock and Raiders coach Jon Gruden appear to think they are, then a position of weakness could become a position of strength. The Raiders are also counting on Williams’ improved health, Agholor’s second chance and Bowden’s apparent versatility paying off. Some caution should be extended, though. Rookie receivers typically struggle, and the learning curve could be even steeper while they’re away from the team and not getting hands-on experience with Gruden’s complex offense.

Tight ends (3): Darren Waller, Jason Witten, Foster Moreau

The draft had no impact here, as the Raiders are rightfully bullish on Waller and Moreau, whom both played well last year. The 38-year-old Witten still has potential value as a blocker and red-zone target.

Offensive linemen (10): Rodney Hudson, Gabe Jackson, Richie Incognito, Kolton Miller, Trent Brown, Jordan Devey, Eric Kush, John Simpson, Denzelle Good, David Sharpe

Rumors swirled that the Raiders were shopping guard Gabe Jackson during the draft, but nothing came of it. Mayock was emphatic in stating Jackson remains the team’s starting right guard. There’s no choice but to take his word for it right now but it’s something to watch, especially after Las Vegas drafted another interior lineman in Simpson. There’s currently a numbers crunch in the offensive trenches with center Andre James and tackle Brandon Parker looking like the odd men out.

Defensive linemen (9): Maliek Collins, Jonathan Hankins, Clelin Ferrell, Maxx Crosby, Maurice Hurst, P.J. Hall, Carl Nassib, Arden Key, Daniel Ross

Not taking any defensive linemen might have been a vote of confidence for Key and Ross. Key has underperformed since being taken in the third-round two years ago while Ross was an afterthought signing in free agency, the fourth of four former Dallas Cowboys to sign with Las Vegas. Otherwise, the top-seven rotation looks pretty set. With Crosby flashing star potential and the interior spots looking strong, the development of Ferrell could make or break this whole position group. Las Vegas needs more out of the former Clemson star after using the No. 4 overall pick on him a year ago.

Linebackers (5): Cory Littleton, Nick Kwiatkoski, Nicholas Morrow, Marquel Lee, Tanner Muse

Mayock’s pre-draft comments indicated the Raiders were confident enough in free-agent signings Littleton and Kwiatkoski to not use much draft capital on linebackers, and those thoughts turned out not to be a smokescreen. The only addition was Muse, who’s converting from safety and seen more as a factor on special teams in his first year. Local fans will be rooting for UNLV’s Javin White to make the team, but it’s more realistic to cheer for him to land a spot on the practice squad. It seems like a possibility and would still be a massive achievement, allowing White to potentially improve, bulk up and be ready to step up in case of injury.

Cornerbacks (6): Trayvon Mullen, Damon Arnette, Nevin Lawson, Lamarcus Joyner, Keisan Nixon, Amik Robertson

A lot of responsibility is going to be put on Arnette, and even Robertson, in their first seasons. The Raiders’ pass defense was their biggest liability last year, and the two rookies appear the best hopes for an answer. The second-year Mullen and Arnette won’t be handed starting jobs but they’ll both need to earn them in training camp if Las Vegas is going to be at its best. Meanwhile, Robertson should see plenty of playing time rotating in at nickelback.

Safeties (4): Johnathan Abram, Damarious Randall, Jeff Heath, Erik Harris

Abram might be the player the fan base is most excited to see on the field next season, at least defensively. Expectations couldn’t have been higher for the first-round pick out of training camp last year, but he injured his shoulder in week 1 and missed the rest of the year. He has all the tools to be a star, if not a team leader, but it’s important to note he’s still unproven, which is part of the reason why consistent veterans Heath and Harris look like a luxury.

Special Teams (3): Dominik Eberle (kicker), A.J. Cole (punter), Trent Sieg (long snapper)

Here’s where an undrafted free agent has the best chance to make the team. Some rated Utah State’s Eberle as the top draft-eligible kicker, and Daniel Carlson was far from a sure thing last year. The incumbent should always be the favorite, but Carlson’s edge might be slight in this case, and where’s the fun if not picking at least one upset? Cole has less to worry about. Sieg will compete free-agent Liam McCullough, but to this point, hasn’t done anything to make his role look insecure.

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