The Las Vegas Raiders have nine draft picks on their 53-man roster. Let’s look at how they fared in a Week 1 20-13 victory at the New England Patriots and looking ahead to what to expect in Week 2, at home against the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday night.
Ashton Jeanty:
It was a pretty quiet first game for the No. 6 overall draft pick. Jeanty had just 38 yards on 19 carries with six attempts that went for negative yardage. Raiders coach Pete Carroll indicated that the Boise State product may have been
a little to excited and he may have missed some chances for some chunk plays. Carroll expects Jeanty to be just fine moving forward.
Jack Bech:
The second-round pick played just four snaps on offense and nine on special teams. Bech did haul in a 23-yard catch from Geno Smith on his only target. Expect the TCU product to continue to get opportunities at a planned pace throughout the season.
Darien Porter:
The cornerback, taken in the third round, did not play any defensive snaps. He did play 20 snaps on special teams. Porter began training camp as a starter, but is currently not in the rotation on defense.
Caleb Rogers:
The offensive lineman, taken in the third round, was a healthy scratch. That may be the case for a while.
Charles Grant:
The offensive lineman, taken in the third round, was a healthy scratch. That may be the case for a while.
Dont’e Thornton:
The wide receiver, taken in the fourth round, got a lot of work in training camp and in the preseason. And that didn’t stop in Week 1. Thornton played 60 percent of the offensive snaps. He didn’t play any snaps on special teams, which is an indication of how the team thinks of his value to the offense. He had two catches for 45 yards on four targets. The speedster hauled in a 36-yard catch on third and 20, which basically sealed the win. Expect him chances to continue to increase. The Raiders think they have something in Thornton and will give him as much as he can handle.
Tonka Hemingway:
The fourth-round pick played 11 snaps on defense and nine snaps on special teams. It will be interesting to see if his defensive-snap count increases soon.
JJ Pegues:
The defensive tackle, taken in the sixth round, was a healthy scratch. That shouldn’t have been a surprise. Yes, Pegues stood out in the preseason. But he’s a sixth-round pick. It could taken some time. Yet, I’d think we will see him on the game-day active roster at some point.
Cody Lindeberg:
The seventh-round pick played no snaps on defense, but 24 snaps on special teams. That’s pretty impressive for a last-round pick to play that much on special teams in his first NFL game.
