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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Marcus Mosher

Raiders select SEC defender in Mel Kiper Jr’s first mock draft

You know it’s the start of draft season when Mel Kiper Jr. releases his first mock draft of the year. He did that on Tuesday and gave the Raiders a very interesting player at No. 13.

Kiper mocked Alabama CB Terrion Arnold to the Raiders at No. 13 with the idea that the Raiders need to find their No. 1 cornerback to pair with Nate Hobbs and Jack Jones. Here is a snippet of why Kiper believes this fit would make a lot of sense:

Ultimately, this might be Las Vegas’ best chance to get a true No. 1 cover corner, though, as Arnold took his game to another level in 2023.

He picked off five passes and had 12 total breakups as quarterbacks completed just 37.9% of their passes when he was the nearest defender in coverage. He can shut down one side of the field for a defense that improved down the stretch but still has a ways to go to compete in a tough AFC West.

Arnold was the second cornerback to come off the board in this mock with Nate Wiggins (Clemson) going just a few picks higher. Cornerback is one of the more pressing needs for Las Vegas and grabbing one in Round 1 does make some sense.

The bigger question will be if the Raiders decide to chase a franchise quarterback with this pick. But if they don’t, expect Arnold to be one of a few players they consider with pick No. 13.

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