The Extra Point: Why Didn't the Raiders Trade Down and Take Alex Leatherwood?

Las Vegas took some heat for drafting the Outland Trophy winner, but the Raiders were very happy to select Alex Leatherwood at No. 17 overall

Christopher Walsh | May 5, 2021

When the Las Vegas Raiders selected Alabama offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood with the 17th-overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, general manager Mike Mayock knew they were going to be criticized.

He didn't care.

"He can play inside and outside, but he's going to start for us at right tackle Day One, and we're going to see if he can hold on to that job," Mayock told reporters during a teleconference.

Leatherwood, the Outland Trophy winner as best interior lineman, started in 41 games for Alabama, won a couple of national championship, and has a very bright future in the NFL. Some even called him him the best run-blocker in the draft.

The only question about him was whether he'll be a tackle, or guard, to begin his career.

"He was the highest-rated player on our board at that time, offense or defense," Mayock said.

At the time, three offensive linemen had already been selected:

No., Name, Team, School

7 Penei Sewell, Lions, Oregon
13 Rashawn Slater, Chargers, Northwestern
14 Alijah Vera-Tucker, Jets, USC

Only one other offensive lineman would be selected in the first round, Virginia Tech tackle Christian Darrisaw (No. 23, Vikings), which gives an idea of how the talent level at the position quickly dropped off.

So why didn't the Raiders try and trade down and still take Leatherwood? Simple, the Raiders believed he wouldn't still be available and there's good reason to believe that they were correct with that assessment.

Either way, the Raiders did an extensive amount of research and really liked what they found with Leatherwood, both on and off the field.

"We did an awful lot of homework on this young man," Mayock explained. "I spoke to Nick [Saban] at length about a bunch of his players — because they were loaded of course — but we feel like he's a great fit for what we do."

Published May 5, 2021

CHRISTOPHER WALSH

Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of BamaCentral, which first published in 2018. He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004, and is the author of 26 books including Decade of Dominance, 100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Nick Saban vs. College Football, and Bama Dynasty: The Crimson Tide's Road to College Football Immortality. He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.