The Las Vegas Raiders taking Georgia tight finish Brock Bowers was some of the stunning picks of the whole first spherical of the NFL Draft. Tight finish was not a place of want for the Raiders, however the franchise finally made that call.
One participant who was out there for the Raiders at that thirteenth decide was Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold, among the best gamers at his place and somebody the Raiders had been linked to previous to the draft. Arnold would finally be drafted by the Detroit Lions with the nineteenth general decide, however apparently, he was thought-about by the Raiders at 13. Nevertheless if Arnold is to be believed, the selection of Bowers over him got here on account of one easy flip.
Arnold stated that after the draft Raiders coach Antonio Pierce known as him and stated that the staff had a literal coin flip to decide on between himself and Bowers, by way of Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports activities:
“(The Lions) knew that the Raiders had been a chance,” Arnold advised “The Subsequent Spherical” podcast this week. “And really the Raiders coach, they known as me after the draft, they usually had been like, ‘We truly had a coin toss between you and Brock Bowers. It landed on him.’ I used to be like, ‘Oh wow.’”
It sounds fairly outlandish that an NFL staff would make such an vital determination primarily based on a coin flip, and it’s definitely potential that Arnold took a determine of speech actually. Pierce might have stated that it was a ‘coin flip’ between Arnold and Bowers merely to explain the staff’s back-and-forth between the 2.
Nevertheless, assistant basic supervisor Champ Kelly wouldn’t fully deny the likelihood when requested about it by way of Vic Tafur of The Athletic:
Kelly “can’t verify” that there was an precise coin flip at decide 13 for Brock Bowers. Terrion Arnold stated that Antonio Pierce advised him after the draft that that’s what occurred.Kelly: “We’re excited to get Brock right here.”
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) Might 8, 2024
Ultimately, the one factor that issues is that the Raiders selected to take Bowers and now the staff has one other thrilling weapon to make use of as they give the impression of being to leap into postseason competition in 2024.
Raiders eyeing veteran cornerback in free company?
The Raiders did finally add a pair of cornerbacks within the draft, taking Decamerion Richardson within the fourth spherical and MJ Devonshire within the seventh, in addition to security Trey Taylor within the sixth. However the franchise might nonetheless be seeking to increase the secondary.
One reporter believes the Raiders might look so as to add a veteran cornerback in free company. Stephon Gilmore and Xavien Howard are nonetheless out there, as is Adoree Jackson, the latter two having expertise taking part in for Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
