Raiders double down on defensive picks in NFL draft

OAKLAND - Word is out on the Raiders’ 2016 draft, and that word is “defense.”

A day after taking safety Karl Joseph in the first round, the team further bolstered that side of the ball Friday by taking Illinois defensive lineman Jihad Ward in the second round and Michigan State edge rusher Shilique Calhoun in the third.

“It wasn’t like we orchestrated to come out with that being the case,” Oakland coach Jack Del Rio said as the third round wound down. “We have a lot of areas where we feel like we can strengthen, add competition to the roster, add depth and it just has worked out in that way.”

And yet it was hard not to picture general manager Reggie McKenzie conducting the Raiders’ draft room like an orchestra leader. His team seemed to need a little help at every level of the defense, and McKenzie addressed it.

Neither of Thursday’s picks are flawless prospects, but both offer versatility. Del Rio explained that Ward can play multiple positions along the line, from 5-technique (positioned on the offensive tackle’s outside shoulder) to 3-technique (the guard’s outside shoulder).

The book on Ward says he’s an uncommon physical talent, tall and lean, who needs to learn the nuances of pass rushing.

“Ward is a developmental prospect who has the size to fit as a 4-3 base end or defensive tackle and as a 3-4 defensive end,” his NFL.com scouting report opined. “Is he mean enough to play inside though? He might need a position coach to draw that out of him while he continues to develop.”

Pro Football Focus ranked 44 edge rushers based on their “pass rush productivity,” and put Ward second to last. The service gave the Raiders’ pick a D+.

Some of the scouts described Ward as raw. Del Rio disputed that.

“He’s not a raw player,” he said. “He played against Big Ten linemen and he has moved along the line. He has played all the way out as a 9-technique (outside a wide receiver), all the way down to a 3-technique. He has been exposed to a lot of football. And defensive line is not as complex as playing quarterback.”

Like a lot of guys McKenzie has drafted, Ward seems easy to root for. Raised by a single mother of modest means in Philadelphia, he signed up for a daily round-trip commute of 24½ miles - almost three miles on foot - to and from a school-provided apartment on Staten Island and a junior college in Manhattan.

His efforts paid off when the Raiders took him at overall pick No. 44.

Ward has at least one thing in common with Joseph, the first-rounder: a troublesome knee. Ward said he suffered a small meniscus tear during practice leading into his senior season and underwent arthroscopic surgery.

“They said I was going to miss four games with that and come to find out I was back the first game,” he noted by phone.

Immediately after Ward was drafted, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted that several teams believed he would need further surgery and might be out six weeks. Ward said he’s “100-percent clean on that one,” but sounded ready to leave it in the hands of the Raiders medical staff.

“If it’s a situation that needs to be handled, yeah, I would see what’s going on with that,” he said. “… If it’s fine, it’s fine. We can see what’s going on. If it’s wrong, then we just have to fix it.”

Calhoun is, in many ways, Ward’s opposite.

A defensive end at Michigan State, he’s a polished pass rusher who racked up 26 sacks over his last three college seasons. He’s seen as something of a liability against the run, though. Calhoun is also a strong presence, a team captain who could have entered the NFL draft after his junior year, but returned to school to complete his degree in criminal justice and make a run at a national championship. The Spartans came close, falling to Alabama in a College Football Playoff semifinal.

Del Rio said Calhoun joins the team as sort of a hybrid strongside (Sam) linebacker and pass-rushing defensive end.

“I feel like I’m a very versatile player,” Calhoun said. “I can play multiple positions. I definitely do believe that the Sam works for me. If you want to put my hand in the dirt, that also works. I think that I can play multiple roles and I can contribute to the team in different ways. If he wants to put me at tailback, I can play a little tailback, too.”

The Raiders’ emphasis on the front seven makes sense in light of Aldon Smith’s situation. The NFL suspended Smith for at least the first half of the 2016 season. And it sounds an ominous note on the status of second-year defensive end Mario Edwards, who is still awaiting medical clearance for a persistent neck injury.