2017 NFL Draft: AFC West first round recap and analysis
Gareon Conley. 24. player. 28. . Cornerback. Ohio State
It was clear that the Raiders would go defense with their first round pick, but taking Conley here was nothing short of a shocker.
Just a couple of days after Conley was accused of rape, he became a first round pick. Now, Conley vehemently denied the allegations and hasn’t been arrested or charged, but athletes have been dropped off of draft boards for less (see: La’El Collins).
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Thus, when the Raiders came on the clock, there probably wasn’t anyone in the NFL Draft world that thought Conley’s name was coming off the board. In fact, there were rumors he would last well into day three…
Conley has no. 1 cornerback skills to be certain. He’s got good feet and excellent speed on the back end, along with long arms and good overall size. Conley’s ball skills are very good but the report on him is that he needs to improve in run support.
For Oakland, he’ll be able to ease into the starting lineup. Hopefully, their research on him as a person off the field will turn out to be correct. Otherwise this was a move that wasn’t worth the risk/reward.