Championship pedigree is something that can only be earned and learned from experience. For the Oakland Raiders, championship DNA was found in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Three of the Raiders’ nine draft picks came from the reigning College Football Champion Clemson Tigers. Defensive end Clelin Ferrell, cornerback Trayvon Mullen and wide receiver Hunter Renfrow all won two championships at Clemson and are bringing that winning attitude to Oakland.
To make the newest players feel welcome, the head coach Jon Gruden and the rest of the Raiders coaching staff donned familiar collegiate apparel during their rookie mini-camp last weekend, via the Raiders Twitter:
Made some of our draft picks feel right at home during Rookie Minicamp.
CC: @ClemsonFB pic.twitter.com/JYBjTtfkXe
— Oakland Raiders (@Raiders) May 5, 2019
For Ferrell in particular, the Clemson brotherhood will extend to coaches office as well. Defensive line coach Brenton Buckner played his college ball for the Tigers.
In response to the tweet, the Tigers said that the Raiders have “fully embraced the ‘Clemson West’ moniker.” Hopefully, that will ring true and the Raiders will find post-season success much like Clemson has in recent years.
Despite the “Clemson West” nickname, the three rookies are the only former Clemson players on the Raiders roster. Clemson produced a total of six players in this years draft, four fewer than their championship rivals at the University of Alabama. The Raiders also grabbed a player from Alabama when they selected running back Josh Jacobs in the first round.
The Raiders rookies were introduced last Thursday when the new players received their numbers. The rookie mini-camp ran from Friday to Sunday. Raiders organized team activities are scheduled to start on May 21.
