It’s that time of the year, and it’s getting even closer to being time to see who the Las Vegas Raiders drafted. The 2024 NFL Draft is to help make their future brighter than it already is. The free agency period went well for the Raiders, as they grabbed them a bridge quarterback for insurance purposes and one of the best players available in defensive tackle, Christian Wilkins.
The Raiders still have a ton of holes on their roster that they didn’t fill in free agency. That is why the NFL Draft is so important. Now, they can hopefully put together a draft class of seven (maybe more or less) guys who can help contribute to this team now and in the future.
This draft is stacked with some of the positions the Raiders need the most like cornerback and offensive tackle, and even quarterback, too. Last season’s class that the Raiders drafted was stacked on paper, but only a few of those guys, or really one, showed what he was capable of. So, this is a crucial draft in that aspect. Luckily for the Raiders, I have given them the perfect recipe for drafting the perfect class. Let’s take a look.
Round 1, Pick 13: Alabama CB Terrion Arnold
Sure, the Las Vegas Raiders need a quarterback more than anything. That is their biggest need, but it’s starting to look like they will not be able to trade up for a good price, so I feel as if they should take one after day one of the 2024 NFL Draft and go with their next biggest need on day one of the draft. In this mock draft, I had them taking who I believe is the best cornerback in the league, if not the second-best.
Quinyon Mitchell went off of the board first to the Denver Broncos, and that’s who I would pick because of the fit in the Las Vegas Raiders defensive system under defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, who loves to put his cornerbacks in press-man defense. Mitchell does that better than anyone in this class. However, getting Arnold is not a bad thing, as he is the most balanced cornerback in this class when it comes to playing zone and man.
Arnold is A to Z Sports’ 20th overall prospect in this year’s draft and the No. 2 overall cornerback. Playing at Alabama, he has faced pretty much the highest level of football possible in college and knows how to win and buy into a culture. That is perfect for the Raiders, as they need guys with both of those traits. Arnold is an aggressive ball-hawk, who had 12 PBUs and five interceptions in 2023, so the stats are there as well.
He is disruptive and aggressive at the line of scrimmage, stays on top of fade routes, and works back to the football. Arnold has a twitchy change of direction. He stays glued to the hip pocket on in-breaking routes, accelerates out of his speed-turn, and undercuts passing windows. Arnold is an elite run defender, as he led CBs in PFF run defense grade (90.5). He’s a violent block shedder and a heat-seeking missile in pursuit. Arnold is an above-average tackle but barely blitzed; however, he flashed potential as a pass rusher. While all this sounds great, Arnold, like every player, does have some flaws to his game.
Arnold is a bit undersized for an outside CB. He will miss his hands at the line of scrimmage and needs a tight pre-snap alignment to land his punch consistently. Sometimes Arnold over-commits, and his crosses feet vs. outside releases. Arnold is physical/grabby, which could lead to more penalties in the NFL. He allows separation to comebacks if the WR swipes his hand down and struggles to turn his hips and accelerate from off-coverage. Arnold has mediocre route anticipation and closing burst from off-coverage. He is undisciplined in zone coverage and gets caught up in traffic vs. bunch formations.
Even with all of that, the Raiders should still take him if he’s available and one of the quarterbacks they want is not available.