The Raiders waited until the seventh round to add a cornerback in this year’s draft, but they won’t have to wait any longer to get Dexter McDonald under contract.
The team announced that they have agreed to a four-year deal with McDonald. McDonald is the eighth member of the team’s draft class to agree to a contract, leaving second-round defensive lineman Mario Edwards Jr. and third-round tight end Clive Walford as the only members of the group without deals.
At 6-1, McDonald looks the part at corner and he has 4.42 speed in the 40 to go with that size, but, as you could probably guess from his spot in the draft, the play he put on tape at Kansas wasn’t quite as appealing as his physical traits. There’s other examples of that in Oakland’s draft history, although taking a flier in the seventh round is far better than banking on athletic ability alone in the early rounds.
D.J. Hayden is going to be at one cornerback spot for the Raiders, but things are pretty open as you move down a depth chart that skews young.