HENERSON, Nev. -- The Las Vegas Raiders wrapped up the first draft of the Pete Carroll and John Spytek era with six Day 3 selections on Saturday. The Raiders added a surplus of late-round picks thanks to a pair of trades in the second that saw the team move out of the round entirely in favor of later capital.
The Silver and Black began the day by drafting Tennessee wide receiver Dont’e Thornton in the fourth round with the 108th overall pick. Thornton played his first two seasons of collegiate ball as a backup at Oregon before transferring to Tennessee before his junior season. After another relatively quiet season as a junior, Thornton broke out as one of the nation’s best deep threats as a senior this past season. Thornton led the nation with both 25.4 average yards per catch and six 50+ yard receptions and was the leading receiver on a Tennessee team that made the College Football Playoff.
"I model my game after Calvin Johnson and Julio Jones, and then more lately I've been watching a lot of Nico Collins,” Thornton said. “I try to imitate a lot of things that he shows. Just looking at the group of guys that I'm going to be joining, I'm very excited. I feel like we have the potential to be a very explosive offense and overall team in general.”
Not long after, the Raiders were back on the clock again in the fourth round with the 135th overall pick, which they used to draft South Carolina defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway. Hemingway’s older brother, Junior, was a seventh-round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2012. Hemingway was never a full-time starter in college but saw extensive action in all four of his collegiate seasons with the Gamecocks. Regardless, Hemingway earned second-team All-SEC honors from publications in his final two seasons in Columbia and even ran for a touchdown against Jacksonville State this past season.
“I feel like I can get better at everything,” Hemingway said. “But something I want to hone in on is definitely the run game. I feel like I can keep getting better and better in the run game if I just put my mind to it.
"It feels amazing, knowing I can learn from people like (Maxx Crosby and Christian Wilkins). It just means a lot. And being able to go see and learn how to practice, how to take care of your body and everything, it'll be great to learn."
The Raiders didn’t make a selection in the fifth round. However, they made up for that with a trio of picks in the sixth, beginning with Ole Miss DT JJ Pegues with the 180th pick. While Hemingway got a rushing touchdown at South Carolina last season, Pegues has a legitimate penchant for running the football with 7 touchdowns on 21 carries in short-yardage situations last season.
Toward the end of the sixth, the Raiders finally addressed the quarterback position by double-dipping on FCS quarterbacks Tommy Mellott (Montana State) and Cam Miller (North Dakota State) with the 213th and 215th overall picks, respectively.
Mellott and Miller have a history against each other, as the two faced off in the FCS Championship game this past January. Miller and the Bison got the better of Mellot’s Bobcats, but it was a fantastic battle and an instant classic.
Las Vegas wrapped things up by taking Minnesota linebacker Cody Lindenberg in the seventh round with the 222nd overall pick.