The Oakland Raiders selected Mississippi State safety Johnathan Abram with the No. 27 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
The pick was the Raiders’ third of the night as they previous selected Clemson defensive end Clelin Ferrel with the fourth pick and Alabama running back Josh Jacobs with the 24th pick.
Abram played in 32 games in three years at Georgia and Mississippi State and had 195 total tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, two interceptions, 10 passes defended and three forced fumbles.
In 13 games in 2018, he had 99 tackles, nine tackles for loss, three sacks, two interceptions, five passes defended and a forced fumble. He is known to be a hard hitter, which should help anchor a Raiders defense that was the worst in football a year ago.
The Raiders already signed a safety in Lamarcus Joyner this past offseason, but he can also serve as a nickel corner for the Raiders to accommodate Abram. Karl Joseph was the team’s starter at strong safety a year ago.
Picking Abram concludes the first day of the draft for Oakland. They will have four more picks in Days 2 and 3 of the draft.
