Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen a ton of mock drafts give the Raiders a quarterback at No. 7. And if it’s not Will Levis or Anthony Richardson, the other pick is often Christian Gonzalez from Oregon.
But one player that we haven’t seen mocked to the Raiders in a while is Paris Johnson Jr from Ohio State. Early on in the draft process, Johnson frequently showed up in mock drafts at No. 7. But over the last few weeks, that name has basically disappeared. Until now.
In a recent mock draft by Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, he mocked the monster offensive tackle of the Buckeyes to the Raiders at No. 7. Here is a snippet of what he had to say about the possible fit:
Grabbing an offensive tackle here to help Jimmy Garoppolo, especially with the Bears looking for a tackle two spots later, drives this move ahead of going cornerback and taking Devon Witherspoon or Christian Gonzalez.
It’s Johnson, at 6 feet 6, 313 pounds with over 36-inch arms, over Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski, who might be more ready now to play closer to his potential. But the Buckeye has much better length (his arms are about 4 inches longer) to play tackle in the NFL, although both have good versatility and footwork.
The Raiders don’t have a need at tackle right now, but that’s the appeal of Johnson. He has experience playing both guard and tackle, meaning that the Raiders could find him a spot inside as a rookie. And when it’s time to move on from one of their other tackles, Johnson could slide right in at either spot.
It seems feels a bit unlikely that the Raiders will pick Johnson at No. 7, but it would be hard to argue with the selection. He would fill a need on their offensive line and he might just be the best player available when they pick.