The Las Vegas Raiders taking Georgia tight end Brock Bowers was one of the most surprising picks of the entire first round of the NFL Draft. Tight end was not a position of need for the Raiders, but the franchise ultimately made that decision.
One player who was available for the Raiders at that 13th pick was Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold, one of the best players at his position and someone the Raiders had been linked to prior to the draft. Arnold would eventually be drafted by the Detroit Lions with the 19th overall pick, but apparently, he was considered by the Raiders at 13. However if Arnold is to be believed, the choice of Bowers over him came due to one simple flip.
Arnold said that after the draft Raiders coach Antonio Pierce called him and said that the team had a literal coin flip to choose between himself and Bowers, via Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports:
“(The Lions) knew that the Raiders were a possibility,” Arnold told “The Next Round” podcast this week. “And actually the Raiders coach, they called me after the draft, and they were like, ‘We actually had a coin toss between you and Brock Bowers. It landed on him.’ I was like, ‘Oh wow.'”
It sounds pretty outlandish that an NFL team would make such an important decision based on a coin flip, and it is certainly possible that Arnold took a figure of speech literally. Pierce could have said that it was a ‘coin flip’ between Arnold and Bowers simply to describe the team’s back-and-forth between the two.
However, assistant general manager Champ Kelly wouldn’t completely deny the possibility when asked about it via Vic Tafur of The Athletic:
In the end, the only thing that matters is that the Raiders chose to take Bowers and now the team has another exciting weapon to use as they look to leap into postseason contention in 2024.
Raiders eyeing veteran cornerback in free agency?
The Raiders did ultimately add a pair of cornerbacks in the draft, taking Decamerion Richardson in the fourth round and MJ Devonshire in the seventh, as well as safety Trey Taylor in the sixth. But the franchise could still be looking to boost the secondary.
One reporter believes the Raiders could look to add a veteran cornerback in free agency . Stephon Gilmore and Xavien Howard are still available, as is Adoree Jackson, the latter two having experience playing for Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
More must-reads: