A year ago, Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock earned (in the worst way possible) a trip to the Senior Bowl to coach one of the teams. If you’re curious how much they enjoyed their experience, consider that they went on to draft four players from the Senior Bowl (Johnathan Abram, Foster Moreau, Isaiah Johnson and Hunter Renfrow) — and then signed three more (Alec Ingold, Keelan Doss and Te’von Coney).
With that in mind, RaidersNation.com reached out to Senior Bowl executive director — Jim Nagy — for his insight into which guys he likes heading into the draft. In addition to his duties with the Senior Bowl, Nagy is also a contributor for ESPN’s draft coverage.
Jim, as we look towards the draft, wide receiver and cornerback remain the two biggest needs on the roster. None of the top three receivers (Jerry Jeudy, CeeDee Lamb, Henry Ruggs III) were Senior Bowl guys, but in your preparation for ESPN, how do you rank those three?
Nagy: Ruggs is my favorite and I think he’s the best one. He’s got a rare trait those other two guys don’t have. And he isn’t just a speed guy — he can run routes, he’s tough, he’s competitive, he goes inside, I mean, he catches everything. To me, Ruggs would be the pick. At No. 12 I wouldn’t take either of the other two (because of the depth at the position), but Ruggs would be hard for me to pass on. I really think he has a chance to be a difference maker.
Now let’s say the Raiders wait until No. 19 to grab a receiver. One name that came up in my conversation with The Athletic’s Dane Brugler was Denzel Mims — a senior bowl guy — who Brugler says the Raiders like. Is 19 too early for him?
Nagy: Sounds like that’s close to the range where he’s going to go — somewhere in the latter half of the first. Seems like a guy that could be a good target — I mean, he aced pre-draft process. This is a guy who is long, he can run every route, (he showed that here in Mobile, which isn’t something you see on Baylor tape), his three-cone drill (6.66) was ridiculous for a guy his size, plus he has a huge catch radius and he blocks.
So do you see him as a guy who could be a No. 1 receiver in the NFL then?
Nagy: Physically he has all the stuff — he’s long bodied, runs 4.3, goes up and get the football and he showed down here he can get off press coverage. In a way, he has answered a lot of the questions that people still have about CeeDee Lamb.
The other major position of need for the Raiders is cornerback. If they wait until the third round to address it, we find a bunch of Senior Bowl guys in that range. Who do you like if the Raiders are looking for an outside, press corner?
Nagy: Michael Ojemudia from Iowa had a really good week down here and then ran in the 4.4s, which is faster than people were expecting. He probably started this process as a sixth rounder, but has worked himself up to around the fourth. He did a good job in press all week, and I think he’s just scratching the surface. Talking to coaches at Iowa, he started putting in a bunch of time heading into his senior year and his coaches saw an ascension.
Reggie Robinson from Tulsa is another guy who fits that mold. He had an underrated week down here — I didn’t hear a lot about him after the fact, but when we got back into the office and started watching the tape he had a great week. He’s big and physical and ran a 4.4.
Troy Pride is the other guy who I think is really undervalued. He can really run and he covered people all week down here.
What about if they look for another receiver in the third?
Nagy: Van Jefferson is probably more of a second round guy, but I think he’s a first round value. I think you could make an argument that he’s a better player than Jerry Jeudy in my opinion. Antonio Gandy-Golden is a really intriguing guy. I mean, there are going to be starters that you can find in the late third, early fourth. So if I were the Raiders that’s why I probably wouldn’t take a receiver in the first.
Another position of need is running back — not a primary back, but a secondary, big-bodied guy the Raiders can use to spell Josh Jacobs. Anyone come to mind as a mid-round fit?
Nagy: Antonio Gibson from Memphis. He played mostly wideout at Memphis, but we had him at running back down here to see how naturally he could handle the position, and he answered those questions. He’s 228 pounds and ran a 4.38, so the size and speed combination is among the best in this class.
Last question: you mentioned Van Jefferson as someone you feel like people are sleeping on. As you look around at mock drafts and big boards, are there any other guys you feel like are getting overlooked?
Nagy: Clyde Edwards-Helaire, the running back from LSU. I just think he’s the best running back in the draft and I haven’t seen him in anyone’s first round.
