A few players at each of the Raiders’ biggest positions of need
With the Senior Bowl starting up this week, that means NFL Draft season is officially underway for the Las Vegas Raiders and the rest of the league. Below is a look at a few names to keep tabs on during the Senior Bowl at the Raiders’ biggest offseason needs.
Included are each player’s stats from this past season, where they currently rank on NFL Mock Draft Database’s consensus big board and an excerpt from their scouting reports. One note, some players will attend the Senior Bowl to meet with teams but opt out of the practices.
Cornerback
Khyree Jackson, Oregon
2023 Stats: 34 total tackles (25 solo), 3 INTs, 7 PD, 5 TFL, 2 sacks
Rank: 99th overall (CB15)
Scouting report (full report via Bleacher Report)
Khyree Jackson was a bit of a journeyman throughout his college career. The Maryland native played junior college ball at Fort Scott Community College, then transferred to the University of Alabama for the 2021 and 2022 seasons before transferring to the University of Oregon. He passes the eye test with an excellent 6’3”, 195-pound frame.
While playing in coverage, Jackson shows a range of coverages and techniques. Press man coverage is the one he plays the most. He opts to mostly mirror receivers at the line of scrimmage and get hands-on as he rides them downfield.
Kalen King, Penn State
2023 Stats: 29 total tackles (20 solo), 0 INTs, 2 PD, 1.5 TFL
Rank: 43rd overall (CB7)
Scouting report (full report via B/R)
As a freshman at Penn State, Kalen King played in 13 games with one start. He was highly productive the following season with 21 pass breakups, which garnered him a lot of attention. However, he wasn’t able to match that production in the 2023 season. He actually dipped below his on-ball production from his freshman season.
King has average height and size for an NFL cornerback. He has the speed and movement skills to be a good NFL player, but he will need to continue to improve his functional strength to be able to combat bigger and more physical receivers.
Quinyon Mitchell, Toledo
2023 Stats: 41 total tackles (32 solo), 1 INT, 18 PD, 2.0 TFL
Rank: 27th overall (CB5)
Scouting report (full report via The Draft Network)
Quinyon Mitchell plays a good amount of off-man and zone coverage. His route-recognition ability is excellent. Mitchell does a solid job reading routes from his landmarks and squatting before driving downhill. He uses a side-saddle or bail technique to keep everything in front of him and prevent the deep ball.
Mitchell has tremendous ball skills and production over the last two seasons. He battles at the catch point with an entitled attitude. He is as competitive and disruptive as any CB I’ve studied in this class at the catch point. I love how he attacks the receiver’s hands and punches through the pocket to force incompletions. Mitchell is skilled at undercutting routes and creating turnover opportunities. He anticipates the receiver’s break and drives on the ball.
Defensive Tackle
According to The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II will not be practicing due to a “minor late-season injury”.
Ruke Ohorhoro, Clemson
Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
2023 Stats: 25 total tackles (13 solo), 5 sacks, 8 TFL, 1 PD
Rank: 69th overall (DL7)
Scouting report (full report via B/R)
Ruke Orhorhoro fits the description of a high-ceiling NFL draft prospect to a T. His combination of strength and athleticism is evident on film, and he’s still relatively new to the game having grown up in Nigeria before moving to Michigan. He was primarily a basketball player before hitting the gridiron for the first time as a junior in high school.
Against the run, Orhorhoro only has a few flaws in his game. He takes on blocks with good leverage and has the upper-body strength to not only gain control of the block but also snap the heads back of offensive linemen. Also, his agility allows him to avoid getting reached.
Brandon Dorlus, Oregon
2023 Stats: 25 total tackles (14 solo), 5 sacks, 6.5 TFL, 9 PD
Rank: 60th overall (DL6)
Scouting report (full report via B/R)
Brandon Dorlus is a versatile defensive lineman who lined up at several different spots at Oregon. He has a good blend of strength and athleticism, which gives him several traits that will transfer over to the NFL and give him a high ceiling.
As a pass-rusher, Dorlus has active hands and a few moves he can win with, most notably an arm-over or swim move. He also has decent agility to be an effective looper in line games and has flashed the ability to get pressure with power using a push-pull move or a bull rush.
Braden Fiske, Florida State
2023 Stats: 43 total tackles (17 solo), 6 sacks, 9 TFL
Rank: 102nd overall (DL6)
Scouting report (full report via B/R)
Braden Fiske has the potential to become a good 3-technique defensive tackle in the NFL, especially as a pass-rusher, primarily due to his blend of strength and athleticism.
Fiske shows a lot of impressive movement skills and hip mobility to grow as a rusher, and he’s effective as the looper in line games with good agility to gain ground vertically while moving laterally. Against the run, his lightning-quick get-off allows him to get penetration, and he has pop in his hands to win at the point of attack.
Quarterback
Bo Nix, Oregon
2023 Stats: 364-470 (77.4%), 4,508 yards, 45 TDs, 3 INTs, 54 rushes, 234 rushing yards, 6 rushing TDs
Rank: 29th overall (QB5)
Scouting report (full report via B/R)
Nix’s greatest asset is arguably his athleticism. He is flexible, quick on his feet and dangerously explosive. He consistently escapes pressure and finds a number of different ways to do so. Nix also brings good speed in the open field, which serves him well as a scrambler and as a designed runner.
As a thrower, Nix has the goods physically. He has a loose arm and can bomb it down the field with relative ease. Additionally, Nix’s velocity is well above the NFL threshold. He can drive the ball outside the numbers and into tight windows over the middle reliably. That even applies to Nix’s ability to throw on the run, where he really shines.
Michael Penix Jr., Washington
Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
2023 Stats: 363-555 (65.4%), 4,903 yards, 36 TDs, 11 INTs, 3 rushing TDs
Rank: 25th overall (QB4)
Scouting report (full report via B/R)
Everything with Penix’s game starts and ends with arm strength. The ball explodes out of his hand. He can bomb it 60 yards down the field with the flick of the wrist, as well as attack tight windows to the intermediate range. Penix is at his most accurate down the field as well.
Penix isn’t afraid to use his arm, either. He’s always hunting for shots down the field and is more than willing to give his guys a chance in contested situations, a trait that served him well with Washington’s exceptional ball-winners.
Michael Pratt, Tulane
2023 Stats: 185-283 (65.4%), 2,406 yards, 22 TDs, 5 INTs, 98 rushes, 286 rushing yards, 5 rushing TDs
Rank: 88th overall (QB7)
Scouting report (full report via TDN)
In the pocket, Pratt’s experience shines as a processor presnap. Quick to identify depth and principles of outside coverage. Clean mechanics with a smooth delivery and easy zip. Can, at times, pull the string a little too much when asked to layer throws, but often drops it right into the bucket. Zero concerns if asked to live inside the tackles as a pure pocket passer. Average burst but has some athletic ability to create chunk plays if defenders turn their back.
Pratt is excellent working off play-action, where he sells the mesh point and quickly flips his head to scan. His base remains clean and will rarely throw off-balance if granted the necessary space. Mechanics when working in play-action could be modified at the next level, however, where Pratt is used to aligning in a neutral base with his shoulders square to the line of scrimmage. The mesh point and initial dropback are an elongated process that could be considered wasted movement to whichever offense he finds himself in.
Offensive Line
Taliese Fuaga, Oregon State
Rank: 18th overall (OT4)
Scouting report (full report via TDN)
Taliese Fuaga has 1,564 snaps at right tackle for the Beavers offense. He plays with a physicality that sets the tone on run downs. Fuaga moves out of his stance with good quickness and pop. He displays the burst to reach and cut off blockers on zone concepts. Fuaga has heavy hands that can stun defenders and stymie their momentum once he’s latched. He is a good climbing blocker to the second level and into space. Whether facing linebackers or defensive backs, he gets out quickly and hunts down the target.
He has sufficient arm length and uses it to his advantage in pass pro. Fuaga uses vertical, short, and 45-degree/diagonal set points. His lateral movement is efficient and effective to close the defender’s access points to the backfield. Fuaga will meet defenders at the apex of their rush with good posture and patience. His punch timing is sufficient and mixes ghost punches to throw off the timing of the defender’s rush. This allows him to recover if beaten by the initial rush.
Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon
Rank: 48th overall (iOL2)
Scouting report (full report via B/R)
Powers-Johnson is a quick-twitch, explosive and powerful run-blocker who equally excels in gap or zone concepts. He does a very good job of covering up, lifting and securing defensive tackles in the post on double-teams with jarring power on feeds to bump them over as the drive man.
Powers-Johnson can consistently line up his target on the move on back blocks, climbs and screens with very good speed and angles. He arrives on contact with jarring force and has the body control to stay attached to finish.
Cooper Beebe, Kansas State
Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images
Rank: 59th overall (iOL3)
Scouting report (full report via B/R)
Beebe uses his strapping, thick build and heavy hands to routinely cover up, jolt and displace first-level defenders on base, double-team and angle-drive blocks while staying square on climbs and pulls to delete targets on the move. Beebe’s lack of length limits his ability to press and widen defenders when they get inside his frame and on his edges, leaving him susceptible to getting slipped if he doesn’t command the rep early.
As a pass-protector, Beebe shows excellent processing skills to timely sort pressures, line games and stunts with pocket-clearing power and a nasty demeanor when uncovered. He has a stout, firm anchor against the bull rush with an effective snatch technique to break contact against the long-arm. Beebe is a little laborious redirecting against moves across his face without the length to bail him out, shrinking his margin for error in his footwork and strike timing when isolated against wide-rush alignments.