NFL Draft 2019: 5 Bold Predictions for the first round

3. The Raiders win the night

The Jon Gruden era in Oakland got off to a rocky start. The new head coach hadn’t cleared all the dust from his clipboard before he sent stud pass rusher Khalil Mack to Chicago. Weeks later, Amari Cooper was a Dallas Cowboy. Gruden and the Raiders were the butt of every joke as the team floundered with a sizable lack of talent.

Thursday night is when people stop laughing at the Raiders. Owners of not one or two, but three first round picks, the Raiders are set to add three starting-caliber players to their roster in one night.

Hitting on another mid-round pick (or two) could revitalize a roster, putting Gruden and new general manager Mike Mayock‘s stamp on the organization at the same time.

The Raiders have options. Barring a ridiculous reach on a player nobody else views as a Day 1 or Day 2 pick, this should be the Raiders’ moment in the sun. They still have to put those players to work, but the torturous decision to reboot on the fly will have shown its first fruits.