The Way Too Early Grade The Draft Thread

[Attyla]

D+ we did not get our number one WR LOL

Actually, I like this draft, Spytek moved around a lot and got us some nice pieces. We did not get everything but it feels like Raiderland Christmas.


So let's see those overreaction grades. I know, I know, you cannot grade a draft for 3 years. Boo f[raiders_icon]cking Hoo. Lighten up Francis and grade this glorious weekend.

Mendoza by himself does not get us an A but the rest of the group certainly has to impress when put together. McCoy if he heals up makes the robber barons of the draft.

And there will be UDFAs and post draft pickups and drops. Tyree is going, well eventually, I mean the door s 40 yards away so it will take some time.

Grade A- but if McCoy pans out the grade could change.

[LesterHayesHOFer]

If McCoy doesn't get the bone plug surgery and plays this year I wonder if it's a situation where built up use of the knee wears it out, or is he one play and hard tackle or hard cut from blowing it out?

[Attyla]

If McCoy doesn't get the bone plug surgery and plays this year I wonder if it's a situation where built up use of the knee wears it out, or is he one play and hard tackle or hard cut from blowing it out?

he had the surgery. It is now a matter of heal up time and to see if it takes

[mstrbass2000]

Same way they f[raiders_icon]cked up the whole oline and team in general. Truly an egotistical & clueless staff. Lies of competition when in reality it was picking favorites for roles in the clown show

imagine you come to play dt and the stooge coach says go play oline ...talk about a learning curve

[mstrbass2000]

A fourth round pick is where you can find good depth and possibly a starter. It's not a throw away pick. The same goes for 5th rounders. It's the 6th and 7th where you can take a flyer on a guy with great measurables but not a lot else. Special teams players are also taken there.

IOW, there are foreseeably impactful players that can be taken in the 4th. McCoy may not see the field until 2027, which means zero possibility of an impact this year and for all practical purposes, 2027 would be his rookie year after not playing for two years.

I hope for the best for us and for him, but just because we drafted him doesn't mean the pick is above criticism.

the 4th rd is where you would grab value on a guy rated in the top 20 of the first rd, it limits your exposure if it doesn't work out but if it does work out watchout a big payoff ...

im comfy with this pick and the value we may have gotten, super high upside with some risk

[Raiders Baby]

From what I understand, this is basically how it all breaks down for McCoy:

His ACL is healed, and he had a bone plug as a graft to replace some of the cartilage. The question at hand is if he should have a second surgery.

The tricky thing with a bone plug is that they take the material to make it from your own bone, so there is a limited number of times you can do it successfully.

If he does a second surgery, he will be out this year, and faces two possible outcomes:

SUCCESSFUL: he will have a chance to play a longer career

UNSUCCESSFUL: game over

If he does nothing, he can probably play this year, but he risks a shorter career because wear and tear makes it less likely a second surgery would be successful, if he needs it.

Again, this is just how I understand what I've heard on the internet -- if anyone has better info feel free to correct me

[NoThanksSir]

Wasn't sure where to post this. I want this demonic harlot far away from our team/players, but Spytek had a solid interview here. When pushed on our lack of investment into WR he mentioned Tucker and Bech by name, but also emphasized that we're in a "Team building" phase and not a "talent acquisition phase." Which may be the first legit acknowledgement of the rebuild that we have seen.

Reading between the lines, Spytek is more concerned about our long term trajectory, and also admitting it would be dumb to sink more high draft picks into WR after taking Bech and Thornton the year prior.

[SkullCrusher]

The problem with your statement is that you said he had great measurables but not a lot else. That is patently false. We have significant game day tape on the guy and he was projected as a first rounder, and a high first rounder by some. And he ran at his pro day so we know the ACL has healed up. The only question is the bone plug and his medical records would have been accessible so they know more and due to HIPAA are just not sharing more about how that process is going.

And if he cannot go until 2027, so what of it. 2026 is not a year where we are making a run, we are a young rebuilding team.

Yeah if he weren't to play this year but was a lock next year, I measure that as like getting an extra first next.

The two WR's and Lineman from last year, I don't look at them as firsts now, but I do look at them as really more present now with the team than how they were used by last years team, especially the linemen.

[Xramfan]

Ryan Wilson of CBS gave four teams an A+ for the draft and the Raiders were one of them. Here’s what he said and in the below link you can see where he placed our draft choices on his big board. He used his big board to develop the grades as if you pick someone in the third round who he had as top 20 player your grade is higher.

Wilson's notes:
Favorite pick: Treydan Stukes had first-round buzz heading into the draft and every team I spoke with talked up what a great human being he is. He's almost as good a football player, which is amazing given that he's a former walk-on at Arizona.

Best value: Jermod McCoy, all day long. You wish the best for him and his recovery from a knee injury he suffered in January 2025. Put another way: if I told Raiders fans 2 weeks ago that they would land Stukes and McCoy they'd be beside themselves. And here we are.

Most surprising pick: On the surface, the Raiders did everything right -- there were no reaches, no players that don't fit what they're trying to do. The biggest surprise is how many good players they got from start to finish.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/new ... aft-class/

When was the last time anybody has described a Raider draft like the last paragraph?

[KillerRaider30]

This is a good recap. They do a great job.

[chucker]

From what I understand, this is basically how it all breaks down for McCoy:

His ACL is healed, and he had a bone plug as a graft to replace some of the cartilage. The question at hand is if he should have a second surgery.

The tricky thing with a bone plug is that they take the material to make it from your own bone, so there is a limited number of times you can do it successfully.

If he does a second surgery, he will be out this year, and faces two possible outcomes:

SUCCESSFUL: he will have a chance to play a longer career

UNSUCCESSFUL: game over

If he does nothing, he can probably play this year, but he risks a shorter career because wear and tear makes it less likely a second surgery would be successful, if he needs it.

Again, this is just how I understand what I've heard on the internet -- if anyone has better info feel free to correct me

Good explanation, and this is how I understand it as well. Honestly the best, completely selfish, option for the Raiders is for McCoy to just play this year and see how it goes because he likely plays for at least a couple of seasons and probably plays pretty well and he's dirt cheap for a potential starting CB. The best option for McCoy is probably to have the surgery and sit a year. If he comes back healthy then he has a better chance at a long career and a second contract.

[GoodTimeCharlie]

From what I understand, this is basically how it all breaks down for McCoy:

His ACL is healed, and he had a bone plug as a graft to replace some of the cartilage. The question at hand is if he should have a second surgery.

The tricky thing with a bone plug is that they take the material to make it from your own bone, so there is a limited number of times you can do it successfully.

If he does a second surgery, he will be out this year, and faces two possible outcomes:

SUCCESSFUL: he will have a chance to play a longer career

UNSUCCESSFUL: game over

If he does nothing, he can probably play this year, but he risks a shorter career because wear and tear makes it less likely a second surgery would be successful, if he needs it.

Again, this is just how I understand what I've heard on the internet -- if anyone has better info feel free to correct me

This is pretty much it. When they went in to fix the ACL tear they discovered a degenerative cartilage defect, essentially osteoarthritis. They did the ACL fix AND a bone plug, a procedure that transplants bone and cartilage from a non-load-bearing area of the knee.

As Raider Baby mentioned, the bone plug procedure can only be performed a couple times as the material comes from your own knee. He may need another in the future in order to continue playing football, it’s not always assured that it will be successful.

Dude’s got an expiration date (but then we all do). Impossible to know when his is.

[GoodTimeCharlie]

Good explanation, and this is how I understand it as well. Honestly the best, completely selfish, option for the Raiders is for McCoy to just play this year and see how it goes because he likely plays for at least a couple of seasons and probably plays pretty well and he's dirt cheap for a potential starting CB. The best option for McCoy is probably to have the surgery and sit a year. If he comes back healthy then he has a better chance at a long career and a second contract.

Seems they’ll have to talk it out. McCoy and the FO that is. The gist I can surmise is that he can burn his available bone plug surgeries (2 to 3) for football (assuming they’re all successful), or have a somewhat shorter career, approximately 3 to 4 years and save a future bone plug surgery for a less handicapped post-career.

Based on most football players’ mindsets, he’ll use them all for football giving him a 7+ year career (again, that’s presuming all the surgeries are successful), and live that cane-life post-career.

[chucker]

Seems they’ll have to talk it out. McCoy and the FO that is. The gist I can surmise is that he can burn his available bone plug surgeries (2 to 3) for football (assuming they’re all successful), or have a somewhat shorter career, approximately 3 to 4 years and save a future bone plug surgery for a less handicapped post-career.

Based on most football players’ mindsets, he’ll use them all for football giving him a 7+ year career (again, that’s presuming all the surgeries are successful), and live that cane-life post-career.

oh, that's interesting. I might offer him some of your bone plugs to get him a few extra years.

[GoodTimeCharlie]

oh, that's interesting. I might offer him some of your bone plugs to get him a few extra years.

You’re a saint, alas, mine are shot already. Only cartilage-rich parts of me are my ever-growing nose and ears. Though if I were able, it’d have to be in a trade for hair plugs.

I was researching this because it just seems a thing that we would have made some leaps in medical discovery. There’s an “allograft” which is to use tissue from a donor (cadaver), rather than an “autograft”, but it’s not really suitable for anything more strenuous than being able to walk somewhat pain-free.

Also read that doctors push back against trying to use bone plug material from the “good” knee for use on the “bad” one due to an increased likelihood of rejection. Plus you then have 2 weakened knees.

There’s also synthetic lab-engineered cartilage, but it’s still in its infancy. Unproven for just the basics of life. No chance for McCoy as of yet.

[haji81872]

Last years way too early mock draft had Klubnik going #1 Sellers #4 and us drafting Isiah World at #6 who ended up being an undrafted free agent.

Nussmeier went at seven and Allar at eight.