Las Vegas Raiders Among the Least Willing in the NFL in the Past at Picking Up Fifth-Year Options

For most of the last decade, the Las Vegas Raiders have had difficulty selecting the correct picks in the first round of the NFL Draft. The Raiders have had multiple general managers and head coaches during that time, and they all did a subpar job of selecting players that the Raiders valued well enough after their first four seasons to pick up their fifth-year option.

According to Over The Cap, the Raiders rank near the bottom of the league at picking up the fifth-year options of their first-round draft picks compared to other teams. The Raiders could not successfully draft in the first round over the last few years, and few statistics prove it, like the fact that, according to Jason from Over The Cap, the Raiders have only picked up the fifth-year option on 14.3 percent of their first-round picks since 2018.

The only teams with a worse rate than the Raiders during that span are the Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs, and Pittsburgh Steelers. The Raiders have arguably been the worst team out of those four teams during that span. Their inability to successfully draft has routinely left them with relatively high first-round draft picks yearly. 

Since 2018, the Raiders have only picked up the fifth-year option on one of their first-round draft picks, Kolton Miller. The veteran tackle turned into one of the best offensive tackles in the league, but that didn’t make up for all the other misses the Raiders have had on first-round draft picks.

The Raiders have declined to pick up the fifth-year option on safety Johnathan Abram, running back Josh Jacobs, cornerback Damon Arnette, defensive lineman Clelin Ferrell, wide receiver Henry Ruggs, and offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood.

For the Raiders to continually have decently high first-round picks in the draft most years for the last decade, yet not retain most of those first-round picks is a problem that speaks to the problematic situation new General Manager Tom Telesco has started to help the Raiders work their way out of. Multiple general managers before Telesco couldn’t figure out a way to find players who were good enough with the Raiders to keep past their first contract with the team. If the Raiders hope to turn things around, they must find a way to draft the best talent possible and retain that talent.

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