Grading Raiders' Third-Round Selection of OL Trey Zuhn III

The Las Vegas Raiders traded down in the NFL Draft for the second consecutive season under general manager John Spytek. On Day Two of the draft, the Raiders traded picks No. 36 and 117 in the fourth round to the Houston Texans in exchange for picks No. 38 and 91, respectively.

Through the first two days, the Raiders have had a productive NFL Draft. Las Vegas' front office is in the middle of putting together a formidable draft haul to follow up on last year's draft haul. Between last year's draft and the current one, the Raiders may have added over five starters on both sides of the ball.

Raiders Productive Few Days

Las Vegas' first two days in the draft have helped them add quality talent at multiple positions of need. More importantly, the Raiders have spread their roster investments relatively evenly. The Raiders made big-money additions and invested valuable draft picks to address several issues.

The Raiders went from having three picks in the fourth round to two third-round picks, two fourth-round picks, and one of the best safeties available in the draft. They used their first pick in the third round on edge rusher Keyron Crawford. They used their second pick in the third round on Trey Zuhn.

After the completion of the first round, Spytek noted that the Raiders' big board was still relatively intact. This may not have seemed like all that big of a deal, but the fact that many of the Raiders' top choices to select were still available early in the second round gave them room to trade back.

Trading back two picks helped the Raiders move up nearly 30 picks from No. 117 overall to No. 91 overall. That is a significant jump for any team, let alone a team as much in need of talent as the Raiders. Spytek gave insight into how the Raiders planned to approach Day Two of the draft.

"To me, it's always let it come to us, and any call we get or option we have has potential value, and there's a great team around me that will put our heads together, and we'll decide if it makes sense at 36 to stick and pick tomorrow or if it makes sense to move up if we want to get one of those guys or if to move back," Spytek said after the first night of the draft.

"I think we expected there to be a big run on offensive lineman, and there was. And we're still in a good spot. We are going to go up here in a little bit and check out the strategy for 36 tomorrow, but our board is still in a good spot."

Raiders' Solid Second Day

The Raiders walked away from the second day of the draft with more players than they had Day Two picks entering the day. Las Vegas has strategically added depth to yet another position group on its roster. Depth has been an issue for the Raiders, but they are gradually addressing it.

Las Vegas has improved, but its work is far from over. Their roster rebuild will be multifaceted and will take multiple seasons to complete. However, the continued influx of talent will only expedite the process.

Adding a second pick in the third round of the draft, with seven picks still remaining on day three, it is hard not to like the moves the Raiders made through the first two days. Ahead of the draft, I believed the Raiders would select three offensive linemen with their three picks in the fourth round.

The Raiders' trade down from No. 36 added the pick they used to draft Zuhn, but took away one of those three fourth-round picks. Still, the Raiders used that newly added pick to draft an offensive lineman.

Las Vegas needed depth along its offensive line and found it in Zuhn, who will likely play guard. This should be one of the multiple offensive linemen the Raiders add via the draft.

The Raiders are right on schedule.

Grade: B

Add us as a preferred source on Google