Raiders Take DT Ellis, CB McGill In 4th Round Of NFL Draft
ALAMEDA (CBS/AP) -- The Oakland Raiders targeted defense on the final day of the NFL draft Saturday, using fourth-round picks to take Louisiana Tech defensive tackle Justin Ellis and Utah cornerback Keith McGill.
The Raiders took Ellis 107th overall and McGill with the 116th pick acquired a day earlier when Oakland traded down 14 spots in the third round with Miami.
The Raiders have placed a priority this offseason on upgrading a defense that allowed the second-most points per game (28.3) in franchise history last season.
Oakland signed free agents Justin Tuck, LaMarr Woodley, Antonio Smith and C.J. Wilson to bolster the defensive line and added cornerbacks Carlos Rogers and Tarell Brown.
The team made its biggest move on defense by taking pass-rushing linebacker Khalil Mack with the fifth overall pick in the first round on Thursday night and then added some depth on the final day of the draft.
Ellis has the flexibility to play either nose tackle in a 3-4 defense or inside tackle in the 4-3 defense that Oakland uses. He made 48 tackles last season, including 5 1/2 behind the line of scrimmage.
Ellis, who said he models his game after former Raider Warren Sapp and Vince Wilfork, gives Oakland a potential run-stopper inside to add depth behind Antonio Smith, Pat Sims and Stacy McGee on the rebuilt defensive line.
"I'm honored to be able to work with those guys," he said. "Justin Tuck is a guy who is a good defensive tackle, good defensive lineman, period. LaMarr Woodley and all those guys, they are great professional athletes. I'm happy to be a part of the Oakland Raiders."
The biggest concern for Ellis is his weight, which reached 390 pounds at one point in college. Ellis said he weighed about 346 pounds right now and would ideally be at 330 for the season.
"It's been a grind because I'm a built guy just naturally," he said. "I'm a naturally built guy. I gain weight easily but I also lose easily, too, so my weight fluctuates. At the same time, it's been a grind, but it's something that I can do. I haven't lost control of it. But I have gained weight but I also lose it."
McGill, listed at 6-3, 211 pounds, played both safety and cornerback in college and had 12 pass breakups his senior season and returned an interception for a touchdown.
"I was frustrated after seeing some other cornerbacks go ahead of me, but I can't control that," he said. "What I can control is what I do on the field. There are plenty of corners who have had people go ahead of them and were still successful. When I got the call, I was happy to be in a good situation that would allow me to be a starter."
McGill missed the entire 2012 season with a shoulder injury and also had off-field problems with a DUI arrest. But he said he sat down with his coaches and decided to make changes in his life that helped lead him to the NFL.
"I realized that everything could be taken away in a flash, and that the window was closing," he said. "There comes a point in time in your life where you make a decision to become a man or remain a boy. That's what I did before the 2013 season. It got me in the situation I am in now."
The Raiders still have three seventh-round picks.
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