Las Vegas hosted a potential steal on Day 3 who has some interesting ties to part of the Raiders fan base
The Las Vegas Raiders have a large portion of their fan base also fans of the USC Trojans. They hosted USC safety Kamari Ramsey on Monday.
The Las Vegas Raiders got in a very good pre-draft visit and meeting on Monday. They met with USC Trojans safety Kamari Ramsey, whom many Raiders fans are calling for the team to draft.
Many Raiders fans also support the Trojans, making Ramsey an appealing choice. The Raiders have drafted USC players before, including starting safety Isaiah Pola-Mao. Given their need for safety, this pick would make sense.
A glaring roster hole is safety. Quarterback remains the main concern and should be addressed with the No. 1 pick in Fernando Mendoza. However, safety is the next biggest issue, with only two experienced safeties on one-year deals and another with limited play. This makes safety their top need after quarterback.
They need to draft at least one safety who can cover and step in if Jeremy Chinn and Isaiah Pola-Mao depart. Until then, the Raiders tendered Tristin McCollum with an exclusive-rights tender, adding depth. With three safeties on the roster now, they still need about three more.
McCollum previously played for the Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles before playing with the Raiders last season. He played 142 total snaps last season, with 92 of them being coverage snaps. Two of the last nine games saw his play increase significantly, with each game featuring 30 coverage snaps, dating back to Week 9 and then Week 18. So, they can’t really rely on him to be a starter, but as a depth and special-teams guy, he’s been fine. So, should they take Ramsey?
Who is USC Trojans Safety Kamari Ramsey?
Although Ramsey didn’t play linebacker, he wore the green dot for USC’s defense last season due to his high IQ and ability to read the field. Projected as a fourth-round pick by The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, Ramsey is more of an IQ safety, though he has physical skills as well.
Ramsey is very good at seeing the game a step ahead of what happens. He’s a zone safety who has some traits to play man to man in the nickel, but would be much better dropping back into a zone where he can sort through traffic and drive on the ball. Tamsey isn’t really elite at any one thing, yet, but is good at pretty much everything across the board. He could play almost immediately in the right scheme. With the right staff, the Raiders could develop Ramsey into the guy to take over next season.
