Raiders’ Exec Fires Back At Rumors Of Conflict Over Brock Bowers Pick

The Las Vegas Raiders selected University of Georgia tight end Brock Bowers with the 13th overall pick in the NFL Draft late last month in a decision that has been widely criticized.

While most love Bowers’ talent and think he is a generational prospect, many feel that the Raiders should have taken a quarterback or an offensive lineman, especially after taking fellow tight end Michael Mayer in the second round of the draft last year.

Well, during a recent appearance on The Next Round podcast, new Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold revealed that Las Vegas almost took him.

“(The Lions) knew that the Raiders, there was a possibility that they took me,” Arnold said. “And, actually, the Raiders coach, they called me after the draft, they were like, ‘We actually had a coin toss between you and Brock Bowers. It landed on him.'”

Is that true?

Raiders assistant general manager Champ Kelly denies it.

“I can’t confirm that at all,” Kelly said, via Kevin Patra of NFL.com. “Terrion is a good player. I’m excited to watch his career and watch him play. But we drafted Brock, and we’re excited to get him here. And I don’t think anyone else in our whole draft room felt any other way.”

It does seem like a wild story. Deciding to draft based on heads or tails? If that’s the way Las Vegas is operating, it’s no wonder why the franchise has barely had any success for the last two decades.

That being said, even if Arnold’s story does sound ridiculous, Kelly obviously isn’t going to come clean if it were true.

How would Bowers feel knowing that he was the result of a coin flip? And it doesn’t exactly paint the Raiders’ organization in a good light, either.

It should be noted that Arnold was the 24th overall pick of the draft and wasn’t even the first cornerback off the board, so the idea of Las Vegas considering him at No. 13 does sound kind of strange. If the Raiders really wanted him, they could have traded down for him.

Perhaps that was this supposed coin toss was all about? Stay at 13 and take Bowers, or trade down for the potential opportunity to grab Arnold while picking up some other assets in the process?

Regardless of what actually happened that night, Las Vegas selected Bowers, and the Lions chose Arnold later on in the first round.

We’ll see what Brock Bowers brings to the table in Sin City next season.