The Las Vegas Raiders added eight players in the draft but weren’t able to address every position of need. The two most notable positions the team avoided in the draft were wide receiver and quarterback.
While the team wasn’t able to draft either position, they were able to add some players in undrafted free agency. The Raiders announced on April 27 all 17 undrafted rookies they signed.
Here’s a breakdown of each player the team gave a contract to:
QB Carter Bradley, South Alabama
EDGE Ron Stone Jr, Washington State
OL Andrew Coker, TCU
WR Ramel Keyton, Tennessee
WR Lideatrick Griffin, Mississippi State
DT Noah Shannon, Iowa
DB Phalen Sanford, Nebraska
EDGE Amari Gainer, UNC
WR Jeff Foreman, Arkansas State
C Clark Barrington, Baylor
C Will Putnam, Clemson
DE TJ Franklin, Baylor
DT Tomari Fox, North Carolina
CB Demarcus Governor, Northern Iowa
OL Jake Johanning, Furman
CB Ja’Quan Sheppard, Maryland
CB Rayshad Williams, Texas Tech
The Raiders roster is now up to 87 so they have three more spots they can fill. 17 players is a lot for an undrafted free agent class so those last two spots will likely be used on veterans.
Notable UDFA Signings
The signing that sticks out the most is quarterback Carter Bradley. The Raiders were rumored to be drafting a quarterback for months but decided against it after six quarterbacks were selected before they picked at No. 13 in the first round. Bradley is the son of former Raiders defensive coordinator Gus Bradley.
Wide receiver Lideatrick Griffin is also interesting. He’s got great speed and was expected to get drafted. The Raiders wide receiver group is light on depth so Griffin, along with Tennessee’s Ramel Keyton will be players to watch.
On the defensive side of the ball, Ja’Quan Sheppard was one of the most intriguing additions. He needs some time to develop but he’s got good size and athletic ability. He won’t be ready to play this season but he’ll be a good candidate to put on the practice squad to see what he can do. Defensive end Ron Stone Jr. could also have a player to watch. He’s got an intense work ethic, which is something that will stand out to head coach Antonio Pierce.
Tom Telesco Talks Goals From 2024 Draft
This was Tom Telesco’s first draft as the general manager of the Raiders but he’s got a lot of experience running drafts. He was calm and collected this week and tried not to have too big of expectations for the draft.
“I wouldn’t say one big overriding goal, but I guess just trying to make sure we were drafting players that fit our identity,” Telesco said during his April 27 media availability. “Obviously, there’s needs we’d like to fill, I’ve told you before the needs kind of change. But depth is a need too, and you’ve got to have depth across your team, so that’s a big part of it. But you’re just trying to include everybody in the process. There’s a lot of people, all the coaches, all the scouts, front office, even doctors and security, Bob Stiriti is a part of our draft process, He does all that background work for us. So, just a lot of people involved to get all the information together and make the best picks we can.”
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