The Raiders were known for beating to their own drum when Al Davis was alive and some things haven’t changed even after his death.
While the rest of the league has been busy signing up their draft picks, the Raiders spent their time elsewhere. Their attention has finally turned to the draftees. The Raiders announced Thursday that they have signed defensive end Jack Crawford, defensive tackle Christo Bilukidi and linebacker Nathan Stupar, leaving them three more picks to sign.
Crawford, a fifth-round pick who was born in London, started for three years at Penn State. He’ll be looking for snaps at a fairly deep position for the Raiders and may need to spend the year doing more watching than playing. Bikudi, a sixth-round pick, also adds some international flair to the roster. He was born in Angola and lived in France and Brazil. He came late to football as a result and is a raw prospect at this point. Stupar, a seventh-round pick, was Crawford’s teammate in State College. The Raiders don’t have much linebacking depth, so Stupar can win a job this summer.
As we mentioned, the Raiders took a while to start signing picks, but “a while” is relative. Under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, that means June 7th and that’s earlier than most picks signed in previous years.
