With The First Pick
Fansided

Obi Melifonwu to Oakland Raiders at No. 56 Overall

By Carl Cockerham

Oct 15, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Connecticut Huskies safety Obi Melifonwu (20) breaks up the pass to South Florida Bulls wide receiver Ryeshene Bronson (81) during the second quarter of a football game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 15, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Connecticut Huskies safety Obi Melifonwu (20) breaks up the pass to South Florida Bulls wide receiver Ryeshene Bronson (81) during the second quarter of a football game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /
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The hits keep coming for the Oakland Raiders and their defense. They have added to their secondary again and this time it’s a S in Obi Melifonwu.

It looks like the stars have aligned for the Oakland Raiders to have a great 2017. They were already stacked on offense in 2016 and stacked it even more in 2017 free agency. So they went into a great defensive draft with no needs on the offensive side of the ball.

So when the Raiders pick, they can actually stick to the philosophy of best player on the board. The best player on the board will most likely be a defensive player in this draft. In the first round, the Raiders picked CB Gareon Conley, a top-10 talent that fell to them at No. 24.

In the second round, they followed it up with S Obi Melifonwu, who’s a first-round talent. He fits the Raiders Cover-1/Cover-3 system as a S just as well as Conley fits as a CB. At 6’4″, 225 pounds, he’s a freak athlete, running a 4.4 40 and having the hips of a CB.

So he has the range to cover the back end and man-to-man coverage skills. He started out as a CB before moving to S after growing a little in his time at UConn. McKenzie and the Raiders are starting the 2017 NFL Draft well with hits in the first and second round.

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