Jon Feliciano gets his shot for Oakland Raiders
Sep 3, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Oakland Raiders guard Jon Feliciano (68) during the preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
QB Derek Carr, OLB Khalil Mack and wr Amari Cooper are the Oakland Raiders’ big-ticket draft picks of the last couple of years. But the further we go along in the 2015 season, the more we see the Raiders have drafted well beyond the big three. Gabe Jackson, the 2014, 3rd-round pick, is playing at Pro Bowl level now after a good rookie campaign.
Mario Edwards Jr., the 2015 2nd-round pick, has come in and balled since Justin Tuck went out with a torn pectoral. Neiron Ball and Ben Heeney, both linebackers picked in the 5th-round, have come in and played well when asked as Curtis Lofton has struggled. Ball looked like he was really going to be the guy before a knee injury took him out.
And Heeney has done well in his time on passing downs, the area Lofton struggles the most in. Then there’s tight end Clive Walford, the 2015 3rd-round pick, who’s fought his way back from injury to take over at tight end. Now, it’s time to see if the Raiders have drafted another gem, this time from the fourth round, due to an injury.
Right tackle Austin Howard is out now with a knee injury and right guard J’Marcus Webb has moved over to right tackle. Jon Feliciano is the 2015 4th-round pick the Raiders will soon find out about. He has worked with the ones this week and now that Howard is declared out, Feliciano is scheduled to start.
If he does well, that will make it the fourth 2015 Oakland Raiders draft pick to beccome a real starter. Webb has struggled mightily at right guard all year as Feliciano could strengthen a weakness with solid play there. With Mack, Carr, Jackson, and corner T.J. Carrie, thats four solid starters from the 2014 draft class.
If Feliciano can overcome is shaky start to take over, that will make it another four starters in 2015. Four solid starters in a draft is a great haul and when you have a losing team, it will become a winning team fast. And in the Raiders case, they can do it by running the table in the last three games but next year, they look like a safe bet to do it.