Raiders Had an Advantage With Pick of Nesta Jade Silvera
By the seventh and final round of the NFL Draft, the casual fan typically tunes out, their interest more directed toward Days 1 and 2.
But it's no time for the front office to stop working.
For the Las Vegas Raiders, they felt their seventh-round selection was a vital steal.
With the 231st overall pick of the draft, the Raiders selected former Arizona State and University of Miami (Fla.) defensive tackle Nesta Jade Silvera, a player many had projected to have gone two rounds before.
Raiders General Manager Dave Ziegler told the media on Saturday that he was surprised to see Silvera fall to where he did.
"He wasn't a player who I had been able to spend much time on prior to draft meetings," Ziegler said. "I'm only able to watch so many players, but when we put on the tape, it was just surprising to see this inside player and just how disruptive he was in the running game. A lot of penetration, a lot of plays where he's in the backfield and just a lot of plays where he's finding the football and making tackles. And so, those guys are hard to find."
There was one advantage in particular that allowed the Raiders to get the inside analysis on the prospect: their connections.
"Sometimes these guys who are transferring and things like that can get lost in the shuffle a little bit, but [linebackers coach] Antonio Pierce knew him from his recruiting days while he was at Arizona state. So he had some knowledge of him. And then the new head coach at Arizona State wasn't there with Nesta but is in the building now, and obviously, he has connections. Kenny Dillingham was someone who I coached at Chaparral High School when I was coaching high school football in Arizona. So there were some connections for us just to learn a little bit about his journey, learn about who he was, and he was also a guy we brought in for a 30 visit.
"So we got to spend some time with him in the building and, yeah, we're really excited that he was there. And again, there's going to be a lot of competition in that defensive tackle room. Everyone's going to have to buckle up and bring their best every day because there's going to be a lot of hungry people in that room.”
Round 1 No. 7 overall pick: Tyree Wilson, DE, Texas Tech
Round 2 No. 35 overall pick: Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame
Round 3 No. 70 overall: Byron Young, DT, Alabama
Round 3 No. 100 overall: Tre Tucker, WR, Cincinnati
Round 4 No. 104 overall: Jakorian Bennett, CB, Maryland
Round 4 No. 135 overall: Aidan O'Connell, QB, Purdue
Round 5 No. 170 overall: Christopher Smith II, S, Georgia
Round 6 No. 203 overall: Amari Burney, LB, Florida
Round 7 No. 231 overall: Nesta Jade Silvera, DT, Arizona State
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