The One Player the Las Vegas Raiders Need Today

The Las Vegas Raiders have several picks to make in the second and third rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft, but they need to come away with this player in particular.

The first round of the 2024 NFL Draft has come and gone. 

It was full of surprises and offensive players going high. One of the biggest shocks in the draft belonged to the Atlanta Falcons, who selected former Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall as part of a major run on quarterbacks in the first round.

The Las Vegas Raiders also made a rather surprising pick, going with former Georgia tight end Brock Bowers at No. 13. He adds an incredible element to their offense and will be dynamic in new Raiders offensive coordinator Luke Getsy’s offense.

Several talented players are still on the board going into the second and third rounds. The Raiders can land some of these players tonight if the board falls their way and they play their cards right. 

One of those players is Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry. His foot injury may have scared teams off, so he fell out of the first round. The Raiders have to hope he falls to No. 44, or they will have to make a trade-up earlier in the second round to get him. 

The Raiders need a cornerback. They have Jack Jones on the outside and Nate Hobbs in the slot, but they need to find another outside corner. Jakorian Bennett is a young player they just drafted in the fourth round of the 2023 Draft, but he struggled in his rookie season. Are they banking on him to break out in his sophomore season?

McKinstry had an argument for being the best cornerback in the draft before his foot surgery. He stands at 6-foot-1 and weighs 180 pounds. He posted 93 total tackles, 23 passes defended and two interceptions in his Crimson Tide career. 

McKinstry spoke highly of Raiders coach Antonio Pierce to me at the NFL Scouting Combine. 

“I really love him [Pierce],” he said. “Love him as a coach, and I can tell that he’s dedicated into it. I feel like in the whole meeting, there really were a lot of questions about me and my background.”

It’s likely McKinstry won’t be on the board long later tonight, so if the Raiders want to bolster their cornerback room and add a potential franchise player in the secondary, they should move quickly to bring him to Las Vegas.

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