Mike Mayock pulled off a bit of a shocker | Forum

ALAMEDA Tyrell Williams Jersey , Calif. (AP) —with his first pick as an NFL general manager that even surprised the player he selected.The Oakland Raiders used the fourth pick in the draft on Clemson defensive end Clelin Ferrell on Thursday night, passing up other pass rushers rated higher by analysts in the team’s quest to find a replacement for Khalil Mack.“There were flashier players, players that other people may have had higher on their boards, teams may have had higher on their boards,” Mayock said. “On our board, it was he and (No. 2 pick Nick) Bosa at that position, right next to each other at that position. We knew he’d probably be there. Everybody else had all the big names up there. … He checked all the boxes. He’s going to be a three-down player. He’s 267 pounds, he’s a captain, he’s one of the best leaders.”Ferrell said he knew the Raiders liked him but didn’t know if they would use the first of three first-round selections to take him. Many analysts had players like Kentucky edge rusher Josh Allen and Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver rated higher than Ferrell but Mayock and coach Jon Gruden went a different direction.“I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t surprised,” Ferrell said. “This was a really, really long process for me. I don’t pay attention to the mock drafts. Those things are stupid. Just talking to my agent, we didn’t know what to expect going in. But me personally, I always felt like I was going to be a Raider. I had such a good relationship and good meetings with the Raiders. It was just a great process.”The Raiders then used the 24th overall pick acquired in the deal that sent Mack to Chicago to take Alabama running back Josh Jacobs to replace Marshawn Lynch, who isn’t expected to return this season. Oakland then took Mississippi State safety Jonathan Abram with the 27th pick acquired from Dallas for receiver Amari Cooper.The Raiders became the fifth team this century to make three first-round picks in the same draft, with the Giants also making three first-round picks this year.“We’re building our team and we need building blocks,” Gruden said. “We had some in place. But we needed these guys to come in and inherit that responsibility.”The Raiders’ most glaring need was at edge rusher after trading Mack last year to Chicago for a package that included two first-round picks. Oakland finished last in the NFL with 13 sacks in 2019, 17 fewer than the next worst team. Their 95 total pressures, according to SportRadar, also ranked last — 29 fewer than 31st place Tampa Bay.Ferrell had 11 1/2 sacks last season for the national champion Tigers and finished with 27 sacks in 84 career games. He also had 59 quarterback pressures, according to Sports Info Solutions.Oakland has been busy this offseason Trent Brown Jersey , adding receivers Antonio Brown and Tyrell Williams, tackle Trent Brown and several potential starters in the back seven on defense. But they have little in place at edge rusher with Arden Key and Benson Mayowa the top players currently on the roster. Key had just one sack as a rookie, while Mayowa has 13 sacks in 72 career games.Jacobs was the first running back or receiver taken in the draft despite being only a part-time player in college at Alabama. He had double-digit carries just seven times in his career and ran for 100 yards only once as he shared time with Damien Harris and Najee Harris.Jacobs finished his career with 251 carries for 1,491 yards (5.9 per carry) and had 48 catches for 571 yards. He joins a backfield with Isaiah Crowell, Jalen Richard, DeAndre Washington and Chris Warren III.“I felt like he was the most complete running back in this draft and I’m glad he’s my teammate and we can go tear the league up together,” said Abram, who played against Jacobs in the SEC.Abram is a versatile safety capable of playing both in the box or deep. He gives the Raiders insurance if they decide not to pick up the fifth-year option on 2016 first-round safety Karl Joseph, who is entering the final year of his rookie deal.Abram had two interceptions, three sacks and five passes defensed last season and is the type of hard-hitter that reminds Gruden of former Raiders safeties Jack Tatum and George Atkinson.“I’m going to try to get him to wear number 32 or 43,” Gruden said, referring to the numbers Tatum and Atkinson wore. “He’s like one of the old-school safeties. He’s a physical, sideline to sideline tackling machine in college. I hope it continues here.” CARSON, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Chargers‘ offense was stuck in neutral for the first 25 minutes of Sunday’s game against the Oakland Raiders. A broken play provided the needed spark.The game was tied 3-3 until Austin Ekeler took Philip Rivers‘ swing pass and turned into a 44-yard touchdown . That was part of 19 straight points by the Chargers en route to their 26-10 victory over the Raiders.“We were doing OK. We weren’t playing great but that kind of sparked it,” said Rivers, who threw for 339 yards and two touchdowns. “We got another stop and then punched it in. I felt then we were in control the rest of the way.”Rivers bobbled the shotgun snap on the first-and-10 play, but quickly corralled it and got it to Ekeler while three Oakland players were blitzing. The second-year running back eluded two Raiders at the 40 and then got a good block from Keenan Allen up the left sideline to score his third touchdown of the season with 4:04 remaining in the second quarter.“I just saw the pressure coming off the edge. And it was a hot call, so it was coming to me right away,” Ekeler said. “I just ended up catching the ball and looking downfield from there.”The Ekeler touchdown was one of four plays of 25 yards or more for the Chargers (3-2), who are third in the league with 29 plays of 20 yards or more; the Rams and Chiefs each have 30.All of that added up to Rivers’ 59th 300-yard passing game of his 15-year career and his eighth against the Raiders. He completed 22 of 27 passes and had a passer rating of 143.4.Melvin Gordon had 120 yards from scrimmage (58 rushing Lamarcus Joyner Jersey , 62 receiving). His 1-yard run during the second quarter gave Los Angeles (3-2) a 17-3 lead at halftime. The scoring drive started after Jahleel Addae recovered a Martavis Bryant fumble at the Raiders 45.The Chargers’ defense had three sacks and forced two turnovers which resulted in 13 points. Oakland’s Marshawn Lynch came into the game fourth in the league in rushing but was held to 31 yards on nine carries.“It’s an energy game, man, and you got good energy built all around you, that’s what it is all about,” Gordon said. “We got to feel off that. That’s how we become a great team.”Derek Carr was 24 of 33 for 268 yards for the Raiders (1-4). He accounted for Oakland’s lone touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard pass to Jordy Nelson which brought the Raiders within 26-10.He also had a costly interception in the end zone to Melvin Ingram during the third quarter. The Chargers turned that into a 96-yard, eight-play drive that was capped with Rivers’ 13-yard TD pass to Virgil Green early in the fourth period.“We had bad plays today,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said. “I think we pressed a little bit. The play calling needs to improve. That’s my job. We’ve got to play better collectively than we did today.”HOME SWEET HOME?The crowd at StubHub Center was predominantly Raiders fans, but it didn’t matter to the Chargers, who have won seven of their last eight at their temporary home until the new stadium at Inglewood opens in 2020.In order to silence their “home” crowd, the Chargers did take the ball on offense after they won the coin toss. They turned that into a seven-play drive and a 49-yard field goal by Caleb Sturgis.TWO FIRSTS FOR INGRAMIngram’s third-quarter interception was his first in 82 regular-season games. He did have an interception in the 2013 playoffs against Cincinnati.The seventh-year defensive end also got his first NFL carry in the second quarter on second-and-goal from the Oakland 1 but was stopped for no gain.“I touch the ball all the time in practice. It was just fun,” Ingram said. “Being in the offensive huddle it felt like I was at home.”NEW HOLDER, SAME RESULTThe Chargers signed punter Donnie Jones to be the new holder for Sturgis, but Sturgis still missed an extra point.Sturgis’ PAT attempt after the Green touchdown bounced off the upright for his fourth miss of the season and third in the past two games. The sixth-year kicker has missed four extra points this season, equaling the amount he had over three seasons in Philadelphia from 2015-17.Sturgis was also 2 of 3 on field goals. His 48-yard attempt on the last play of the first half was on line until it veered wide left at the last moment.“The extra point did bother me a little bit, but we’ll figure out what happened there,” Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said. “He’s been kicking with a lot of confidence, so I’m not concerned about it.”UP NEXTRaiders: face Seahawks next Sunday in London.Chargers: at Browns next Sunday.