Blue Team defensive lineman Mason Graham (55) walks up the tunnel for halftime during the spring game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, April 20, 2024. Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Raiders Pair Wilkins With Michigan Star in New Mock

Originally posted on Las Vegas Raiders on SI
By Fernando Alfaro-Donis | Last updated Mar 8, 2025 9:00 AM ET

The Las Vegas Raiders must draft a player that's ready to compete coming out of the NFL draft. They're trying to establish a winning culture early, and their pick has to help out with that. I'm not saying they have to be the face of the franchise, but they have to be pretty close to it.

The Raiders signed Maxx Crosby to a historical deal, and one can argue that he is now the face of the Raiders franchise. With the sixth overall pick in the draft, the Raiders have an opportunity to draft someone who can help him out on defense.

They tried that last off-season when they signed Christian Wilkins to a massive contract, but that didn't work out too well for them. After playing almost every game in every season with the Miami Dolphins, he was only able to play five for the Raiders.

Charles Davis thinks the Raiders should look to get Wilkins a running mate in the NFL draft. Davis is an NFL media analyst, and he recently published his mock draft. In it, he says the Raiders should use their draft pick on Mason Graham from the University of Michigan.

"New head coach Pete Carroll would be exuberant about this pick. Graham is a force who can pair with Christian Wilkins on the interior while freshly PAID edge rusher Maxx Crosby hunts on the outside.", said Davis.

Graham spent all three years of his collegiate career with the Michigan Wolverines, and he declared for the NFL draft as a junior, after his best year with the program. In 2024, he had 46 total tackles, along with one pass defended and three and a half sacks.

If the Raiders were to make this pick, it would have to be with the assumption that they already have their quarterback situation all figured out. In his mock draft, Shedeur Sanders goes first overall, but in many others, he slips all the way down to the Raiders.

Their priority must be their franchise quarterback in the draft, but if they sign someone in free agency, Graham could help transform this unit into a defensive powerhouse. Offensive lines would crumble under the pressure of the Raiders' pass rush if they blitzed all of Crosby, Wilkins, and Graham.

This article first appeared on Las Vegas Raiders on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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