REPORT: Eye-Opening Lesson Raiders Can Learn From Past Drafts

The Las Vegas Raiders could learn a thing or two from past draft busts throughout NFL history.

Jan 26, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Buffalo Bills cornerback Kaiir Elam (5) against the Kansas City Chiefs during the AFC Championship game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders were investors in the 2024 NFL Draft. It paid off, landing them top impact players with good futures in Brock Bowers and Jackson Powers-Johnson.

With new head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek, paired with minority owner Tom Brady, the Raiders won't turn into gamblers now.

However, they can still learn from past draft evaluation mistakes, as Pro Football Focus' Trevor Sikkema pointed out.

For one, Sikkema noted JJ Arcega-Whiteside, who was a bust for his one-dimensionality. This is poignant, as the Raiders are looking to add a pass-catcher in the upcoming draft.

"He was selected No. 57 overall by the Philadelphia Eagles, but he barely played throughout his rookie season and was out of the NFL by 2023," wrote Sikkema. "I loved his contested catch ability, but Arcega-Whiteside’s story taught me a lesson that while a receiver can have a certain style of play, he has to meet certain thresholds in other areas to round out his profile in the NFL. In this instance, that is separation ability. Arcega-Whitesaide caught 20-plus contested catches in both of his final years at Stanford on 43 and 41 contested catch opportunities. I told myself that was just due to his style, but in reality, he could not separate the way he needed to. His 30.8% separation percentage against single coverage ranked in the first percentile for the receiver position. That was exposed in the NFL and even led to him being moved to tight end before exiting the league shortly after.

"A receiver can be a big contested catch guy and have success, but if he doesn’t consistently separate, 'above the rim' success alone isn’t enough to win in the NFL."

Former Florida Gators defensive back Kaiir Elam was an example of what to look for in a cornerback.

"Elam, now on his second team with the Dallas Cowboys, has been exposed to this point in his career for his inability to play any sort of off-coverage role," wrote Sikkema. "When in press man, he uses his physical play to mask his slow hips while not playing with good spacing instincts. Both of those weaknesses got exposed at the NFL level and are a reason why he was recently traded.

"The lesson to learn with Elam is even though you see a cornerback who likes to play in press-man coverage situations, if you have any questions about the hip fluidity, don’t just write those off due to physical play. Also, even for press man coverage cornerback, make sure you watch the off-zone coverage reps. If you are drafting them to be a starting cornerback, they will be asked to perform those coverage roles, and as we saw with Elam, he could not execute them."

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