We know that the Raiders are going to be in the offensive tackle market early during the 2022 NFL Draft. Players such as Luke Goedeke (Central Michigan) and Abram Lucas (Washington State) have both been connected to the Raiders in the third round.
But is there a chance the Raiders could look at a different type of offensive tackle? What about a massive bulldozer in the run game who has elite size and length that we’ve really never seen before?
In a recent article by Jake Rill of Bleacher Report, he named three players that are expected to be targets for the Raiders in the 2022 NFL Draft. One player that was mentioned is Daniele Faalele, the mammoth offensive tackle from Minnesota. Here is a snippet of his thoughts on the potential fit:
“One potential fit for the Raiders is Minnesota’s Daniel Faalele if he’s available when they are on the clock. Faalele is 6’8″ and 384 pounds, so he would be a large presence on the right side of the line for Las Vegas. He’s a relatively raw prospect, though, as he’s from Melbourne, Australia, where he played rugby instead of football until joining IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, in 2016.
While Faalele may not have the most gridiron experience, he made 31 starts at Minnesota, including 12 in 2021, when he was selected to the All-Big Ten first team. If he continues to improve, he could become a strong right tackle at the NFL level.”
Faalele compares very favorably to Trent Brown, who the current coaching staff knows well. They know how to design an offensive around a massive right tackle who might not have the best feet in the world.
He is probably going to need some time to get used to the speed of the NFL and he could stand to lose some weight to improve his quickness. But Faalele is just so big and strong that he should be able to have a ton of success right away as a run blocker. For that reason alone, he warrants consideration at No. 86.