Raiders sign first-round offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood

2021 NFL Draft
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Another 2021 first-round pick is under contract.

The Raiders have announced that a deal has been struck with Alabama tackle Alex Leatherwood.

The franchise was criticized for taking Leatherwood when it did. The team invited even more criticism by revealing it could have traded down but passed. (It’s believed the Vikings wanted to trade up to take tackle Christian Darrisaw.)

Leatherwood was a unanimous All-American in 2020, and a key member of the Alabama offensive line. He also won the Outland Trophy.

He becomes the ninth first-round pick to agree to terms. More than half of all draft picks have signed contract, less than a month after the draft began.

27 responses to “Raiders sign first-round offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood

  1. Five years from now this will be considered the steal of the draft! By Leatherwood’s agency of course, getting a percent of that first round contract when this guy will be out of the league in five years is like stealing!!

  2. Should they have traded back? yes. Do i have a problem with Leatherwood? at the moment, no.
    The starting LT for the best team in the country, playing in the most competitive division since he was a freshman at multiple positions.
    Kolton Miller had none of the accolades coming out and is now a top 10 LT under the tutelage of Tom Cable. Miller was looking like Robert Gallery 2.0 at first but but 2nd year on has been a stud i think Leatherwood will be a legit RT eventually.

  3. Dude should slip Gruden a couple thousand for picking him a few rounds early.

  4. My first thought, since he wasn’t signed relatively fast, was the Raiders maybe had negotiations with his agent before or during the draft like maybe thats a thing. They say, we will draft him earlier then his projected rank, but you give us a deal on his contract.

  5. You don’t spend the 17th overall pick on a consensus reach that can ‘eventually’ become your RT when there was more impactful players on the board.

  6. So your team has “studs” but can’t break .500? The historical mediocrity is making the raiders fans senseless.

  7. The Cowboys got KILLED for taking Travis Frederick in the 1st round when they did… He turned out to be the best Center in football. So I’ll reserve judgment until we see how he does…

  8. During this pandemic year, I realized how many negative sports articles were written after the NFL draft. There were no more games and it became obvious that these were the kind of stories that were going to be written in the offseason. With no actual games, all stories were going to be about speculation, valuation, and PR strategy to create an expectation. While there were some positive articles about teams who were acing the off-season, others were criticized for poor choices. None of it real. Just opinions for fans to react against. Show me a real game and real stakes.

  9. There’s absolutely no way the best OT on Alabama, an outland award winner, was going to be there in the 2nd or 3rd round.

  10. I’n no Raiders fan, but it’s amusing to see the casuals and the media pretend Leatherwood was never going anywhere near this high. Say what you want after WF and their shady staff, but they’ve had Leatherwood mocked to the Raiders for weeks. They were told all along a team was going to take him that high, and a couple other teams in the early-mid 20s were prepared to take him if he slipped past LV. Obviously Raiders have a history of strange picks in recent years (Ferrell lol), but Leatherwood isn’t one of them.

  11. Everything about how he will be judged as a player is based on his work ethic and desire to succeed. If he wants to, he will. If he’s lazy and disinterested, he won’t. Pretty simple.

  12. If the compensation wasn’t enough to trade back with Minnesota, then how can anyone be so critical about picking for a team need at 17? It’s just talking heads spouting off, not knowing the facts.

    “Ya can’t alwayS get what ya want, but ya get what ya need”
    Mick Jagger

  13. mlhigh77 says:
    May 24, 2021 at 10:02 pm

    Do the Raiders have enough money to pay him?

    _______________________________________________

    can’t wait to see the Donkey’s on Sunday and Monday night….OH THAT’S RIGHT…LOL!

  14. Lets let the kid play first before saying he’s a big overreach in the draft, NOBODY knows until he plays.

  15. All the “experts” said the same thing when the Raiders took Kolton Miller, who is now one of the best LT in the league. There is so much group-think in Sports media, and bashing the Raiders is the path of least resistance.

  16. Yeah this is the move, lol!

    Still no QB or replacement for Mack, but they draft a forth round lineman in the first round. They won’t be on the right track until Gruden and Mayock are out and competent management and coaches are hired.

  17. For everyone that is saying that Leatherwood was a 3rd or 4th round pick,just stop. He was a projected early to mid 2nd. Taking him at 17 was a reach because they could have gotten him later. And to everyone saying Kolton Miller is a top 10 LT needs to quit sipping the Kool-Aid. Yes he is a solid pass blocker but he still ranks towards the bottom in run blocking. If you average those out he is a mid level LT that is now being paid like a top 10 LT.

  18. Mike mayock will be the scapegoat for this pick, it’s probably his last draft

  19. This would be a great pick up in the fifth round.

    No way you take this guy in the 1-4 rounds when you have no QB and defense that won’t stop Mahomie!

    Raiders are doomed!

  20. mlhigh77 says:
    May 24, 2021 at 10:02 pm
    Do the Raiders have enough money to pay him?

    —-

    The Raiders current market value is 3.1 billion, up 117% in the last 5 years alone. Yeah, I think they will be fine.

  21. The Raiders need help on defense and a QB. Why would you take a lineman in the first round? A lot of great QBs went in the first round, even the Bears got one after receiving Mack and giving the Raiders a ton of draft capital! What a disaster this Raiders organization is…

  22. Fact. The Raiders are the least financially liquid team in the NFL. Fact. Their fans don’t support them. Fact. Nobody moves more than the Raiders. Nobody. They are homeless vagrants without any fan support.

  23. mlhigh77 says:
    May 25, 2021 at 12:44 pm
    Fact. The Raiders are the least financially liquid team in the NFL. Fact. Their fans don’t support them. Fact. Nobody moves more than the Raiders. Nobody. They are homeless vagrants without any fan support.

    Fact, your hatred for the Raiders is comical. Fact you have issues. Fact every point you made is completely false. Fact donks were swept by this same team you feel is inadequate. Facts are facts.

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