Silver Minings: Chris Olave to Las Vegas in Daniel Jeremiah’s mock draft 1.0

Now that we’ve officially reached the offseason for the Las Vegas Raiders, it’s that time of the year when mock drafts are dropping just about every day, and several of them at that. Of course, not every pretend NFL Draft is created equal as just about anyone can fire up a computer and make some picks, but NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah has become one of the most respected and trusted draft analysts in the industry.

It’s always a treat when Jeremiah drops a mock and he released his first of the 2022 campaign over the weekend, sending Ohio State wide receiver Chris Olave to the Raiders. Here’s what the former scout had to say about the Buckeye’s fit in Las Vegas:

Olave is going to run REALLY fast. The Raiders have had an obvious need for that element in their passing game since Henry Ruggs’ release in November. DeSean Jackson was a short-term fix.

Jeremiah’s logic is pretty sound and hard to argue with. There was no doubt that the Silver and Black’s offense took a step back without having a consistent speed threat on the field, so Olave’s career average of 15.4 yards per catch in Colombus would be a welcomed sight. On top of that, he also had 175 catches for 2,702 yards and 35 touchdowns during his four-year college career.

This isn’t the first mock draft that sent the speedy wideout to Sin City. Back on January 3rd, Pro Football Focus’ Anthony Treash also paired Olave with the Raiders:

Olave is a seasoned route-runner, just like teammate Garrett Wilson. Since 2019, Olave has come down with 53 10-plus-yard receptions that have come with at least two steps of separation, the most in the Power Five by 12. His wheels have also led to 19 deep touchdowns over the last three years, the most in the Power Five by five.

Granted, Treash’s was so long ago it had Las Vegas picking 18th instead of 22nd, but it does seem like the Ohio State wideout will be within the Raiders’ range when the draft does finally get here.

Circling back to Jeremiah’s projected picks, he had a couple of other teams who are selecting close to the Raiders take players that fit other needs the Raiders have. Offensive linemen Kenyon Green — Texas A&M — and Charles Cross — Mississippi State — went 19th and 20th to the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers, respectively, while Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis came off the board at No. 21 to the New England Patriots.

Jeremiah also had Las Vegas passing on a couple of intriguing prospects to give you guys a couple of other names to keep tabs on. David Ojabo, edge rusher out of Michigan, was the 23rd pick by the Arizona Cardinals and Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean went 24th to the Dallas Cowboys.

Well, we have a little more than three months to find out how it all shakes out for real!

In other Raiders’ links:

• Jalen Tolbert, another potential WR for Raiders: learn about another potential deep threat that Las Vegas should be looking at during the Senior Bowl.
• Vegas free agency primer: our Ray Aspuria broke down what the Raiders are facing in free agency in-house heading into the new league year.
• TDL-Carrfax Wild Card second half: Marcus Johnson breaks down Vegas’ quarterback’s performance in his first postseason game.
• Raiders officially request an interview with Ed Dodds: it’s been rumored that they were interested and NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported this weekend that they’ve reached out to the Colts about him.