Our players: Raiders draft picks likely to be with team when it moves to Las Vegas

By Adam Candee

Tuesday, April 25, 2017 | 2 a.m.

Draft night in the National Football League offers only a few guarantees: fashion failures, unending talk about motors and Adam Schefter knowing picks before the commissioner announces them.

Las Vegas Raiders fans also can feel certain that the players drafted this weekend will form the core of the team’s roster when they arrive in Southern Nevada in 2020. Oakland’s last three draft classes account for 20 of the 63 players on the team’s offseason roster, and just five selections in that time are no longer with the franchise.

The new guys do not simply fill out the third-string — quarterback Derek Carr (2014), linebacker/defensive end Khalil Mack (2014), and wide receiver Amari Cooper (2015) compose the nucleus of a Super Bowl-contending team.

They also show how the NFL is a young man’s game, with an average career of less than four years. In fact, 43 players on the roster will begin this season with no more than three years of pro experience. Running back Taiwan Jones (2011) and long-time kicker Sebastian Janikowski (2000) are the only two players originally drafted by the Raiders before 2014 who still play for the team.

The Raiders own the 24th pick in Thursday night’s opening round and barring trades will select eight players over three days. They have not waited that long to make their first choice since 2005, a byproduct of last year’s 12-4 record and first-round playoff exit.

“It’s a different thing when you’re down that low compared to where you’ve been the last few years,” Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie said last week.

The Raiders need to add talent to a defensive unit that ranked 26th in total defense and yards allowed per game last year, with notable holes at linebacker and cornerback needing attention.

“There are some good defensive players in this draft, but we’re going to follow our board, as always,” McKenzie said.

The second and third rounds will take place Friday and the fourth through seventh rounds will be held Saturday. The Raiders will announce their Saturday picks from the Welcome to Las Vegas sign at the south end of the Strip in their first public event in Southern Nevada since their move here became official last month.