Ziegler, Kelly Evaluate Raiders' Rookie Class So Far

Las Vegas Raiders General Manager Dave Ziegler and Assistant General Manager Champ Kelly have liked what they have seen early on from their 2023 NFL Draft class.

The Las Vegas Raiders are in one of the most crucial periods of roster construction in the NFL, as roster cut-down day is only a few days away.

A few months before that day, however, the Raiders completed their 2023 NFL Draft class, one that has a chance to define General Manager Dave Ziegler’s tenure in Las Vegas.

The Raiders sought players with high character and good football IQ to build the foundation of their team in the second year under Ziegler, Assistant General Manager Champ Kelly and Coach Josh McDaniels.

Throughout preseason, the Raiders have seen good flashes from some of their draft picks, those players showing why the front office and coaching staff wanted to bring them in.

Namely, quarterback Aidan O’Connell, wide receiver Tre Tucker, and safety Christopher Smith II have been a few of the more impressive rookies for the Raiders throughout the preseason.

Whether these players will play a lot during the regular season or not, player development is going to be imperative to Ziegler and his staff. Developing players so that they can play immediately and for years down the line can be beneficial to the team’s future.

Ziegler and Kelly addressed the media at training camp and each spoke about how the rookie class has progressed from when they were drafted to now.

“I think first of all, our college staff did a great job of going out and identifying guys with high character, with high passion for football who are great teammates,” Kelly said. “And so, we had a really good experience with them here acclimating to our system, learning our culture, learning from the coaches and also the veteran players that are here. And so, we're just excited to see them continue to grow into the players that we envisioned them to be when we drafted them.”

“And I think we’re really excited with some of the strides we’ve made just with player development in general here,” Ziegler added. “We’ve invested a lot of resources and a lot of time in building up our player development department, having clear objectives really focused on growing the player on the field, but growing the person too, because there’s a lot of things that you handle when you come into the league that are outside of just being out on the practice field. That’s something that I know is important to Champ and I, and important to the organization. And we’re really excited about where that department is going and how it’s impacting the team.”

The Raiders are looking to develop their own young players into a core they can rely on for years into the future as they look to get back to playing competitive football. Building a core that can grow together, developing chemistry on and off the field, is one of the best ways to do that.

The Silver and Black return to preseason action when they play the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 26, at 8 p.m. EDT/5 p.m. PDT.

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