Mike Mayock Explains Why Raiders Didn't Trade Down in First Round of Draft

The Las Vegas Raiders made one of the more surprising moves of the 2021 NFL Draft, opting to stand pat and select Alabama's Alex Leatherwood at No. 17 overall. The decision was criticized by both fans and analysts alike, as most seemed to believe Leatherwood would be there in Round 2.

It follows, then, that the most logical course of action would've been for Mike Mayock to look to trade down from No. 17. It was a move Mayock apparently considered, but here's the man himself explaining why he chose not to make that trade.

Just when we got on the clock a team did call us and inquired about moving up but they gave us a very poor trade offer and it was a team that needed a tackle... So the combination of the poor offer and their need kind of pushed us away from that. There’s a risk/reward scenario and, in this case, we didn’t feel that it was worth it.

- Mike Mayock

According to Mayock, the team did have an offer to move down. But he didn't feel it was worth the risk of potentially losing out on Leatherwood, especially since the team in question also apparently needed a tackle. Judging by the reaction to the pick, it seems unlikely that this mystery team was calling to trade up for Leatherwood, but you never know.

Still, even though most viewed the pick as a reach, Mayock more than made up for it in Round 2, selecting TCU's Trevon Moehrig. Had you just flipped the order of those two picks, no one would be criticizing Las Vegas' draft right now.

That's a pretty good example of just how silly all this post-draft analysis can be.

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Max Staley is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Max Staley also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mstaley1212. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.