Raiders waive first rounder Johnathan Abrams as terrible list of NFL Draft picks by former GM Mike Mayock grows

Mike Mayock’s tenure as Raiders GM ended nearly 11 months ago, but the draft picks he made are still coming back to bite the franchise.

Safety Johnathan Abram — a 2019 first round pick — was waived by the Raiders on Tuesday. It continues a brutal pattern of Mayock’s high-round picks leaving the team in disappointing fashion.

Abram joins Alex Leatherwood, Henry Ruggs III and Damon Arnette as first-round picks who are no longer on the team (Ruggs, of course, due to circumstances that extend far beyond the Mayock-era Raiders’ scouting department). 

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Current GM Dave Ziegler has been forced to try and make the most of a roster loaded with underwhelming young players, most of whom were drafted by Mayock and his staff. But it has proven difficult, with Las Vegas off to an atrocious 2-6 start in 2022. 

Here’s a look at all of the draft picks Mayock made in his three year stint as Raiders GM — and how each of them has panned out so far. 

Mike Mayock Raiders draft picks

Mayock helmed three drafts for the Raiders in 2019, 2020, and 2021.

2019

Ferrell has had an unspectacular career so far, failing to live up to his 4th overall selection. With Abram waived on Tuesday, it’s clear the team was finally ready to cut its losses with the former first round pick, who was also incredibly disappointing in his time with the team. Mullen was traded to the Cardinals earlier this year, undoubtedly another effort to erase the Mayock-Jon Gruden era. But there are a few positives on this list. Jacobs has been excellent this season and is currently 4th in the NFL in rushing yards, while Renfrow and Crosby are also heavy hitters from this class. 

2020

John Simpson is a faintly shining light in a cavalcade of terrible Mayock picks in 2020. Even without hovering on Ruggs — who was the cause of a fatal car accident that killed 23-year-old Tina Tintor and her dog — there is plenty to see here in terms of terrible player evaluation.

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Arnette was released in Nov. 2021 after a video showed him waving a firearm and making death threats. He has since played for the Dolphins and Chiefs. He was released from the latter in January after facing charges of assault with a deadly weapon. Bowden and Edwards haven’t had legal troubles, but they were both traded for peanuts. Muse never played a snap. Simpson has evolved into a decent starting guard and Robertson is serving as a backup on a corner-thin roster.

2021

The jury is, rightfully, still out on some of these guys, but it doesn’t look great. Leatherwood being cut earlier this year is an ominous start, and two other players are already gone, but Moehrig turned in an underappreciated rookie campaign. Still, the hope with seven draft picks is that more than one will hit.

All things told, the Mayock Era in Vegas will likely prove to be highly forgettable. Despite finding late-round gems in Crosby and Renfrow, the pedigree simply isn’t there otherwise.

Ziegler seems intent on building the team around Carr his way, and cutting Leatherwood and trading Mullen is a way to solidify that. The stakes in Las Vegas are high this year, and the room for error is slim after the Adams trade. We’ll see how it pays off, because it certainly didn’t for Mayock and Gruden.

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Kevin Skiver contributed to this story