Raiders Roster Evaluation: Tyree Gillespie
The 2021 NFL Draft is now behind us, and that means teams across the NFL are in the process of piecing together their entire rosters.
The Las Vegas Raiders are likely no different before what could be a pivotal fourth season of the second Jon Gruden era.
That's why we'll be going over roster evaluations for the Raiders players and position groups to see how everyone's stock measures up heading into the summer.
The Las Vegas Raiders clearly felt the need to invest back in the safety position in this year's draft.
Trading up for Missouri safety Tyree Gillespie in the fourth round shows a clear commitment to improving their play there.
Entering the Tiger program in 2017, Gillespie would emerge as a starter in 2018 and held that role for the rest of his college career.
Gillespie didn't record an interception in college, but he showed ability in coverage against players the caliber of Florida tight end Kyle Pitts.
He offers good size at 6-feet and 210 pounds, and an aggressive skill set that could remind Raiders fans of current safety Johnathan Abram.
Gillespie's lack of ball skills could be a concern early on, though, especially for a Raiders defense that needs to generate more turnovers.
There were also concerns about the amount of range he has and Gillespie needing to tighten up his coverage and tackling skills.
He likely won't be asked to step into a heavy usage role early, with Abram, veteran Karl Joseph, and fellow rookie Trevon Moehrig all in the mix.
Fortunately for Gillespie, he's no stranger to playing on special teams, having done that in college as well.
That will probably be where he makes his impact to start, and where he can grow into a potentially bigger role in the future.
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