The Las Vegas Raiders literally drafted a tank in the second round of a recent mock scenario by Pro Football Network. We’re talking about Tank Bigsby from Auburn.
PFN released a mock draft that “will mark new eras” for several NFL teams. Among those teams are the Raiders, who pick the Auburn star in the second round next year. It’s an interesting notion when you consider how the team’s new brass values the running back position. Nothing official has been stated, but there doesn’t appear to be any talks of an extension for Josh Jacobs. It’s entirely plausible that the running back group will look completely different in 2023.
Should the Raiders draft another running back in 2023?
If you subtract Jacobs and possibly Kenyan Drake as long-term participants, that leaves the Raiders with tons of youth. In particular, you’d have Zamir White and Brittain Brown, who were both drafted this past April. Adding Bigsby would then make sense, adding another layer to Josh McDaniels’ running back committee. Last year with Auburn, Bigsby exploded for 1,099 yards on the ground, finding the endzone 10 times. He averaged nearly five yards per carry as well. It should be noted that Bigsby was seventh in the SEC with his 10 rushing touchdowns. Bigsby was also in the top ten for yards from scrimmage in his conference, ninth in 2020, and sixth last year.
Bigsby is one of the top players in the SEC going into the 2023 season. Gators Wire has him ranked sixth currently, and barring injury, he’ll be someone to keep an eye on.
“Because of Auburn’s collapse at the end of last season, it felt like Bigsby didn’t do much. But he rushed for over 1,000 yards and had 244 touches for the season. Love him as a player and I’m sure [head coach] Bryan Harsin does as well.”
We need to see how the 2022 season plays out for the Raiders, obviously. The needs at right tackle, defensive tackle, and cornerback could end up being prioritized over running back. If that happens, it’ll be unlikely that Dave Ziegler and McDaniels pursue Bigsby so early in next year’s draft.
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*Top Photo: Courtesy of Fly War Eagle