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This or That: Dawand Jones or Luke Musgrave?

You’re on the clock for pick No. 38!

Ohio State v Maryland
Dawand Jones
Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images

The board will be wide open for the Las Vegas Raiders in the second round of the NFL Draft in a little less than two weeks. The Raiders have a handful of needs they can address with the 38th pick of the draft, two of them being right tackle and tight end. So, for this edition of This or That, it’s Day 2 and you’re on the clock and have to decide between drafting Ohio State’s Dawand Jones and Oregon State’s Luke Musgrave.

Dawand Jones

Case for: At 6’8” and 375 pounds with over 36-inch arms, Jones possesses rare size and physical gifts that, obviously, can’t be taught. He’s a mauler in the running game, posting an 85.0 PFF run-blocking grade that ranked eighth among FBS offensive tackles last season, and he only allowed five pressures with zero sacks in pass protection. Adding him to Las Vegas’ offensive line would allow Jermaine Eluemunor to slide inside to guard and give the team a right tackle of the future.

Case against: The Buckeye has drawn comparisons to former Raiders right tackle, Trent Brown, including the fact that he’s struggled to keep his weight under control. For example, Jones was listed at 359 pounds on Ohio State’s roster but weighed in 15 pounds heavier at the combine and he’s not someone who needed to get bigger. Also, he isn’t a good athlete and could struggle to stay in front of speed rushers at the next level.

Scouting report via Bleacher Report (full report):

Jones utilizes his unmatched length to his advantage and establishes first meaningful contact on defenders with very good upper-body strength to create immediate stopping power and snap the opponents’ head back. He wins as a run-blocker by covering up and keeping defenders at his fingertips while running his feet to create displacement on double-teams, kick-out and down blocks.

Jones will open his hips quickly against widely aligned rushers and has marginal redirect and change-of-direction ability to mirror and protect the corner, but his exceptional reach and increased patience acts as an equalizer to widen the edge and dramatically increase the distance rushers have to travel to work around his frame. Jones also shows a potent circle punch technique to come up, around and land his outside hand on the outer number of rushers, effectively closing off the corner.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: FEB 01 Reese’s Senior Bowl Practice
Luke Musgrave
Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Luke Musgrave

Case for: After trading Darren Waller, the Silver and Black’s offense is missing a seam-stretching tight end. That’s exactly what Musgrave brings to the table with his 4.61 speed. At nearly 6’6” and over 250 pounds, he’s a matchup nightmare who’s too fast for linebackers to cover and too big for most safeties. The Beaver would add to the Raiders’ stable of offensive weapons and help take some of the pressure off of Davante Adams to win deep.

Case against: Another way that Musgrave compares to Waller is that he isn’t a good blocker. In the ground game, he can get in the way of defenders but expecting him to move defensive linemen and linebackers is unrealistic. Also, the Oregon State product lacks top-tier production with just over 600 yards and only two touchdowns in his college career, partially because he missed all but two games last year with a knee injury.

Scouting report via B/R (full report):

In simple terms, Musgrave is too tall and fast to cover easily. He’s 6’6” but plays with airy change-of-direction skills and long, explosive strides that allow him to separate in the open field. He excels on deeper routes, such as seam routes, deep overs and corner routes that allow his athletic tools to shine. Moreover, Musgrave has the twitch and route-running chops for a full route tree, even from wide receiver alignments.

Where Musgrave struggles is with play strength as a pass-catcher. He is prone to getting jammed up at the line of scrimmage or rerouted early in routes. He doesn’t have the raw strength nor the crafty hand usage to combat it right now. Likewise, Musgrave can struggle when battling for position on the ball. He too often concedes positioning and allows defensive backs to get to the ball, disrupting his ability to finish plays in traffic. That’s going to be an issue against bigger, stronger NFL athletes.


Raider Nation, you’re now officially prepped and on the clock! Vote for your preference below and sound off in the comments section with your rationale.

Poll

Who are you taking 38th overall?

This poll is closed

  • 71%
    Dawand Jones, OT, Ohio State
    (243 votes)
  • 28%
    Luke Musgrave, TE, Oregon State
    (98 votes)
341 votes total Vote Now