Could Virginia Tech CB Caleb Farley be a target for the Raiders at No. 17?
With Jon Gruden entering the fourth year of his ten-year contract, it’s safe to say he has some job security. That allows him (and Mike Mayock) to be more aggressive and bold in free agency and in the draft knowing their jobs aren’t on the line.
Over the past few years, we’ve seen the Raiders make a few shocking picks, such as drafting Clelin Ferrell at No. 4 (2019) and Damon Arnette at No. 19 (2020). But with the Raiders having just one first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, will Gruden and Mayock be as bold?
If they wanted to take on some risk in the hopes of getting an elite talent, the Raiders might consider Virginia Tech cornerback Caleb Farley. A back injury on top of opting out of 2020 season has caused him to “fall” some in the draft.
Farley was once thought of as a potential top-10 pick and maybe the first defender off the board. But now, there is a chance that he could fall into the late teens and into the range of the Raiders.
In a recent mock draft by Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus, he actually mocked Farley to the Raiders as he believes it would be the ideal fit for him in Gus Bradley’s Cover-3 defense. Here is a snippet of his thoughts on the potential pairing:
“Arguably the best corner available when healthy, Caleb Farley has been rapidly slipping down draft boards — from a borderline top-10 pick at his peak to somewhere in the bottom third of the round, according to PFF’s Mock Draft Simulator. Farley dealt with multiple back issues during his college career, and that will always scare teams, but if he checks out medically (and he reportedly did at the medical re-checks in Indianapolis), then the Raiders are the kind of team that would fall in love with his physical tools.
I have never seen a corner with the kind of recovery speed and burst to the football that Farley has. Those are traits the Raiders above most teams would find it very difficult to pass up.”
If healthy, Farley would immediately be the team’s best cornerback as he has a rare blend of size, speed and the ability to take away the football. If the Raiders want to gamble on an incredible talent, Farley wouldn’t be the worst pick.
Don’t be surprised if a team in the late teens, such as the Raiders, stop Farley’s fall. He’s just too good of a player at his peak to last much longer than that.
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