The Las Vegas Raiders’ second scheduled pick in the 2024 NFL draft comes at No. 44 overall, which falls in the second round. It’s a pick the franchise has held twice before in its history.
The Raiders first picked at No. 44 in 2010, when they drafted defensive end Lamarr Houston out of Texas, who ended up putting together a respectable eight-year career that saw him amass 30.5 sacks in 100 games (71 starts).
Four of those years were spent with the Raiders, where he played in all 16 games each season. He tallied a career-high 69 tackles twice (2012 and 2013) and notched 4.5, five and six sacks in three separate campaigns.
Houston moved on and signed with the Chicago Bears in 2014, where he posted a career-high eight sacks in 2015. He was released prior to the 2017 campaign but was brought back later in the season after playing in five games with the Houston Texans.
In 2020, Houston signed a one-day contract with Las Vegas to retire a Raider.
“I really take pride in being one of the last hand-picked players by Al Davis. For that reason, I wanted to retire a Raider. Once a Raider always a Raider,” Houston said.
The Raiders were once again on the clock at No. 44 overall in 2016 and took another defensive end in Jihad Ward out of Illinois.
Ward, who is still active and signed with the Minnesota Vikings in free agency this offseason, hasn’t had as much success as Houston, but he has been a decent backup over the course of his eight-year career.
After spending two seasons with the Raiders and tallying one sack and 32 combined tackles in 21 games (14 starts), Ward has had stints with the Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants. In all, he has 18 sacks in 102 career games (32 starts).
