Las Vegas Raiders may be getting a head start on the UDFA process based on one of their recent pre-draft visits
The Las Vegas Raiders seem to be very interested in Cal cornerback Brent Austin, as they recently had a few visits with him during this pre-draft process.
The Las Vegas Raiders are close to wrapping up their pre-draft visits, with top-30 visits needing to be finished on April 15.
Some of their visits could be with players they might draft. The Raiders are also meeting with players they hope to sign as Undrafted Free Agents. Recently, they did this with a cornerback who could develop into a valuable asset.
According to Levi Dombro of Just Blog Baby, the Raiders have had a few visits with Cal cornerback Brent Austin. He’s currently projected by Dan Brugler of The Athletic to be an Undrafted Free Agent Rookie, or a UDFA. This is important for the Raiders to do because they may value what they do in the UDFA market more. That’s more like free agency, because those players get to choose where they want to go.
UDFAs may come off as players who weren’t good enough to get drafted, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes, agents will tell teams interested in drafting their players in the seventh round not to, because they would rather go to the UDFA market, where they can choose. Establishing a connection with Austin, a player they clearly like, is a good move. You want to bring these guys on visits, so when it comes time for them to choose where they want to go, they choose Vegas.
Who is Cal cornerback Brent Austin?
Brent Austin is not a player I have watched film on yet. He seems to have some good traits and potential that the Raiders could tap into. Here is Brugler’s breakdown of him in The Beast, which he recently published. Brugler has Austin as the CB35 in this draft.
“A one-year starter at California, Austin was an outside cornerback in former defensive coordinator Terrence Brown’s scheme (mostly off-man and zone coverages). He worked his way up from having one FBS offer out of high school (James Madison) to playing at South Florida and then delivering an All-ACC senior year at Cal. He led the FBS last season in forced incompletions (17), allowed only 45.8 percent completions when targeted and had a crucial punch-out forced fumble at the goal line to beat North Carolina.
“However, he doesn’t have ideal long speed and has a tough time recovering if caught out of position. He is competitive and tough-minded, both in coverage and versus the run, although his mediocre play strength will be more noticeable when facing NFL talent. Overall, Austin put draftable play on tape in 2025, including a three-week stretch (versus North Carolina, Virginia and Louisville) that created buzz with scouts. His body type and below-average testing will make it tough for him to be drafted, though.”
The Raiders will likely meet with more potential UDFA players before the draft.
