The Cleveland Browns used to be the kings when it came to blowing first round picks, but that embarrassing distinction has easily been taken over by the Las Vegas Raiders.
For those who need a refresher, their two first-rounders from 2020, Henry Ruggs and Damon Arnette, were cut from the team last year following separate legal incidents—with Ruggs facing a lengthy jail sentence after killing a 23-year-old female and her dog following a deadly DUI accident, while Arnette was cut after releasing a video of himself making death threats and brandishing a gun.
Well, their 2021 draft wasn’t much better, as the Raiders wasted the 17th overall pick on offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood, only to cut him before the start of the 2022 season.
That wasn’t the only bad news for former Raiders first round picks, as they team also announced that they wouldn’t be picking up the options on any of their three first-round-picks from 2019 — Clelin Ferrell, Josh Jacobs and Jonathan Abram.
With a new regime taking over in Vegas this offseason, it’s no surprise that Josh McDaniels and company were eager to clean house. Especially when you consider all of the off-the-field issues that the team had to deal with last season.
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The former Patriots offensive coordinator will likely want to instill a no-nonsense culture within the Raiders’ building, similar to what he and Bill Belichick had in New England. And he clearly doesn’t see that happening with some of the team’s recent first-round picks.
Will it all pay off? They’re going to need it to if they want to stay competitive in what’s expected to be an incredibly tough AFC West this season.
No Bites For Alex Leatherwood
As for Leatherwood, it has been reported that the Raiders initially tried to trade him, but they were met with a “no” from every single one of the league’s 31 other teams.
Ian Rapoport’s math is a little off, as their are only 32 teams in the league, and the Raiders obviously couldn’t trade Leatherwood to themselves.
The 17th overall pick from 2021 will now be free to sign with whichever team he likes…and whichever team will take him. the 6-foot-5 tackle out of Alabama struggled during his rookie season. He was eventually moved to from the right tackle position to guard, and found more success. But he was said to be back at the right tackle position during offseason activities.
The Raiders clearly didn’t feel as though they could make it work at any position with Leatherwood, however, as the two parties will go their separate ways after just one season together.
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