Oakland Raiders LT Jared Veldheer: The Steal of The 2010 NFL Draft?
Justin Edmonds/Getty Images
Heading into the 2010 NFL Draft one of the biggest weaknesses the Raiders needed to address was the offensive line. Most believed that they would draft the best available offensive lineman with the 8th overall pick. There were a few players worthy of the pick but the with Russell Okung and Trent Williams off the board the Raiders decided to go defense and drafted LB Rolando McClain.
The second round came and there weren't many offensive lineman worthy of selecting that high in the second round other than Zane Beadles. Some draft experts like Mel Kiper Jr. thought for sure the Raiders should take Jimmy Clausen but the Tom Cable had other things in mind. The Raiders used their second round pick on DT Lamaar Houston out of Texas. The 300 pounder was then converted to DE where he is having a solid rookie season.
That brings us to the third round where I believe the Raiders found the steal of the 2010 NFL Draft. With the 69th overall pick the Raiders drafted LT Jared Veldheer out of tiny Hillsdale college. The 6'8" 315 lbs Veldheer was a dominant force at Hillsdale. He just needed to prove himself against a tougher level of talent. He came on strong during training camp and by the end of preseason he was given a starting position. He was named the starting Center over Samson Satele.
No comments:
Post a Comment