NFL Mock Draft 2018: Complete first round after Week 13
9. player. 28. . S. FSU. Derwin James
The Oakland Raiders have tried to address their secondary in recent drafts, but there is still more work to do. They’ve added Gareon Conley, Karl Joseph and Obi Melifonwu in the past two offseasons. Those three, combined with veterans Reggie Nelson and Sean Smith were supposed to be a sturdy unit, instead the Raiders rank in the bottom 10 in pass defense.
Adding Derwin James to the struggling secondary would provide an instant boost. James recorded the highest grade for a safety in the Pro Football Focus era as a freshman in 2015. An injury caused him to miss nearly all of last season, but it didn’t cause him to lose any luster in the eyes of the nation media.
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James was the No. 1 player in Sports Illustrated’s top 100 entering the 2017 season. Florida State’s season has been a disappointment, but the defense has been one of the brighter spots. If James and the defensive backfield can rally the team to a bowl berth after the tough start it would not go unnoticed.
Florida State has one game left in their regular season after rescheduled a game delayed by Hurricane Irma. Entering that final game, James has 10 passes defended this season and two interceptions.