The Raiders entered the 2020 NFL Draft with two first-round picks (No. 12 and No. 19 overall) and then a 61-pick gap before taking another player in the third (No. 80). That’s a long time between selections, all while quality talent is being earmarked for other teams.
Trading down from either of their first-round draft slots would've been the best way to acquire picks where they currently have none, especially in the second round. They gave that selection up in Khalil Mack trade, possibly the most shocking detail other than the trade itself.
But Raiders general manager Mike Mayock said the Silver and Black didn’t actively try to trade down during Thursday's first round. In fact, they never placed a phone call trying to move out of either draft slot.
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They took Alabama receiver Henry Ruggs at No. 12 and Ohio State cornerback Damon Arnette at No. 19. The latter was a surprise selection expected to be a Day 2 pick.
“We did not initiate any calls but we received a bunch of calls tonight from teams who wanted to move up at different times for specific players,” Mayock said in a conference call with reporters. “We wanted to sit there and take Ruggs at 12, and we did. We probably could’ve moved down if we wanted to at 19 but, again, we hung in there and took the guy we wanted to take. We did not make any trade calls, but we got several.”
The Raiders have three third-round picks they could use to move up a bit, but it might take future collateral to get back into the second round.
Las Vegas never interested in moving out of the 12th spot, especially when every receiver was on the board when they formally went on the clock. A trade down at No. 19 seemed like an ideal situation, especially with seemingly solid odds that Arnette would be around and a valuable pick could come back in return.
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To not initiate calls seemed a little odd, but that's more likely on account of teams looking to trade up picking up the phone first. The Raiders listened but obviously didn't find a deal to their liking where they'd still have Arnette in play for sure.
[RELATED: Arnette fills massive hole, perfectly fits Raiders' scheme]
The Silver and Black didn’t want to take a risk of losing a guy they wanted -- Jeff Okudah, CJ Henderson and A.J. Terrell already were off the board -- to pick up some extra picks. They played it safe and got guys they wanted, even if it was possible to move down the draft board a bit and add some extra selections.
They’ll have some time to wait before their next selection, something that could’ve been avoided with a trade down where possible.