When Al Davis was alive, there was no team in the NFL that loved to draft skill players more than the Raiders. If you were a speedy receiver, there was basically a 90% chance the Raiders were going to draft you. However, it seems the Raiders decided to change their philosophy this year.
Not only did the team take a pass on drafting any receivers, but for the first time in franchise history, the Raiders didn't draft a single skill player. The Raiders had seven picks in the 2021 NFL Draft and they didn't use any of those on a quarterback, a running back, a tight end or a receiver.
You could argue that the Raiders didn't necessarily need any depth at those four positions, but let's be honest, that's never stopped them before. Last year alone, the Raiders drafted three receivers with their first four picks.
One reason the Raiders didn't take any skill players this year is because they needed some defensive help after finishing with one of the worst units in the NFL last year. To help fix things on that side of the ball, the Raiders ended up using five of their seven picks on defensive players, including safety Trevon Moehrig, defensive end Malcolm Koonce, safety Divine Deablo, safety Tyree Gillespie and cornerback Nate Hobbs.
Of the offensive players they selected, one of them -- Alex Leatherwood -- ended up being one of the most surprising picks of the first round and not in a good way. Leatherwood was projected by most draft analysts to go somewhere in the second round, but he never made it to the second round and that's because the Raiders decided to select him with the 17th overall pick. The Raiders' only other offensive pick in the draft was center Jimmy Morrissey, who was taken in the seventh round (230th overall).
As for those skill players, the Raiders have come close to going an entire draft without selecting one, but they had never done it before. Back in 2018, the Raiders only took one skill player and that didn't happen until the seventh round when they selected Marcell Ateman with the 228th overall pick.
Even though the Raiders filled several defensive holes on their roster, Pete Prisco wasn't a fan of how their draft played out. In Prisco's grades for the 2021 draft, the Raiders were one of three teams given a "D," which was tied for the lowest grade. Maybe they should go back to drafting skill players.
