Oakland Raiders: ESPN's Mel Kiper Mock Draft 1.0

The Oakland Raiders have the 24th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, and Mel Kiper just released his first mock draft of the offseason.

The Oakland Raiders will have the 24th overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft. The last time they picked in this ballpark was in 2005, when Fabian Washington was selected 23rd overall — but only after the Raiders traded down from the 7th pick.

The last Oakland had their own draft pick this low was, of course, following the 2002 season. The Raiders had the 31st pick following the Super Bowl loss and selected Nnamdi Asomugha.

Three out of Reggie McKenzie’s four first-round picks have been on the money, with Khalil Mack, Amari Cooper and Karl Joseph being the three. The odd-man out being D.J. Hayden. The lowest of those picks was Joseph at 14, so McKenzie will have a new challenge to replicate his draft pick success in newfound territory.

Between now and April 27, many names will come as go as potential draft picks for the Raiders at 24th overall. With that being said, we have officially entered mock draft season.

Mel Kiper of ESPN has released his first mock draft of the season, and he has the Raiders taking Malik McDowell, DT out of Michigan State.

How can a team with Khalil Mack rank last in the league in sacks? That happened this season — he had 11 and the rest of the defense had 14. McDowell had only 7.5 sacks in his career, but the talent is there to produce much more in the NFL. He’s a tremendous athlete with a 6-6, 290-pound frame who is still raw. One position to keep an eye on: running back. Latavius Murray is a free agent, and this class is loaded.

Kiper’s logic for the pick is certainly sound. The Raiders being dead last in sacks in one of several things that was unacceptable about the performance of the defense in 2016, and a severe lack of pass rush from the interior was a contributing factor.

Having Mario Edwards Jr. out for virtually the whole season didn’t help, but with a healthy Mario, Oakland still needs help here.

Here’s a little bit about what Malik brings to the table.

On paper the double-team always works. Malik McDowell, though, beats paper. #4 https://t.co/Z1ElUTwMUy

— Rob Rang (@RobRang) September 21, 2016

And here he is, a defensive tackle, acting the part of an edge rusher. Not bad for a 280+ pound big fella.

Michigan State DT Malik McDowell has some special ability. Can be a force from any position #NFLDraft #Spartans https://t.co/E2717SMnpc

— NFL Draft Geek (@NFLDraftGeek) September 20, 2016

To select McDowell, Kiper had the Raiders passing on the following players:

Out of this group, personally, I would have gone with Sidney Jones. Simply as a matter of being the best player available, while also filling a serious need.

Which players do you have your eye on with the 24th pick?