Winners and losers from Raiders first round draft pick
The Las Vegas Raiders made most of their fan base happy when they decided to go defense with the number seven overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. But, not everyone is happy about this decision, at least we can infer. The Raiders chose to go with Texas Tech edge rusher Tyree Wilson to help […]
The Las Vegas Raiders made most of their fan base happy when they decided to go defense with the number seven overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. But, not everyone is happy about this decision, at least we can infer.
The Raiders chose to go with Texas Tech edge rusher Tyree Wilson to help bolster the defense. Most thought they would go with a cornerback to help their secondary, but instead, they get prepared to fix what was also an issue last year – a pass rush from anyone not named Maxx Crosby.
This draft pick makes the Raiders have some winners and losers. Two guys will surely be impacted by this a ton.
Winner: Defensive end Maxx Crosby
Last year it was safe to say at times Crosby was the Raiders' only good defensive player. When Nate Hobbs went out, that statement was true for sure. They paid a lot of money to have Chandler Jones be virtually non-existent in the first half of the season, and even in the second half he still wasn't good.
This pick helps Crosby because it relieves him of the pressure put on him to be the guy every play. Now he will know there is a competent pass rusher on the other side, at least when Wilson plays. This has to make Crosby happy.
Loser: Defensive end Chandler Jones
Jones, as we stated earlier, was brought in to do one thing, bring down the quarterback. He was paid a ton of money to do that, and well, he didn't really do it. He finished the season with just four sacks, after having 10 the year before.
It's no secret he is getting older, and his play is obviously falling off. Grabbing Wilson was the Raiders preparing for him to be out of town. Wilson will start the season behind Jones, as he should just because of the hierarchy, but by the season's end, it won't be the same.
The Raiders went defense, and it affected a ton of people on this team, these two in particular. Only for one of them, it's a good thing, and for the other, it means his time as a Raiders could end sooner than we thought last year.
