It is highly unusual for a team to have three first-round picks in a single draft. In 2019, it happened twice. The then-Oakland Raiders had that particular haul that season as the result of trades that sent pass-rusher Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper packing, and the New York Giants had three first-round picks primarily as the result of a trade involving Odell Beckham Jr.
Neither of those classes really worked out, though the Giants’ three first-round picks (quarterback Daniel Jones, defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, and cornerback Deandre Baker) did produce on player in Lawrence who the Giants deemed worthy of a fifth-year option. That Jones was not, and was taken with the sixth overall pick, is a damning indictment of former general manager Dave Gettleman. The Baker pick was no better — Baker proved to be a major liability in coverage on the field, and a problem off the field, and he was waived in September, 2020.
Still, Gentleman’s mistakes pale in comparison to the whiffs made by the Raiders. This was the first season in which head coach Jon Gruden had full organizational control after a 2018 season in which Reggie McKenzie was still the general manager. McKenzie, one of the more astute personnel guys around, was shoved out in favor of former NFL Network draft guru Mike Mayock, and with that and a bunch of first-round picks, the Raiders went impulse shopping.
