Jon Gruden: Previous Raiders Picks Kept Him from Drafting Derwin James

The Oakland Raiders took UCLA offensive tackle Kolton Miller with the 15th overall pick in April's draft, but had they drafted differently in recent years, safety Derwin James may have been wearing black and silver instead of Miller.

According to ESPN's Eric Williams, Oakland coach Jon Gruden revealed on Wednesday that he wanted to take James but opted not to because of the team's recent draft history. The Raiders had taken safeties early in the draft in the previous two years, selecting Karl Joseph in the first round in 2016 and Obi Melifonwu in the second round last year.

"We wanted to take Derwin James," Gruden said, according to The Athletic's Sam Fortier. "Everybody wanted Derwin James."

Gruden also likened James to former Pro Bowl safety Rodney Harrison while calling the rookie an "intimidating player" as well as a "physical presence."

James was widely viewed as one of the best athletes in this year's draft class and was projected to be a top-10 pick. However, he kept falling down the draft board as teams opted to go in different directions to fill other needs. Among those teams were the Raiders.

The Los Angeles Chargers had James fall into their laps at No. 17, and he has been nothing short of spectacular to start his career.

Through his first four career games, the 6'2", 215-pound safety has 26 combined tackles, three sacks and one interception. He has recorded either a sack or an interception in every game this season.

As he has made himself a front-runner for the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award, James has been rated as Pro Football Focus' top rookie safety thus far in 2018:

While some may view Gruden's comments as a slight to Miller, the coach has been impressed by his first-year lineman.

"We like Miller a lot, he is going to be a heck of a player," Gruden said last month, per Eddie Paskal of Raiders.com. "He's played against two of the top defenses in football his first two outings. The film speaks for itself."

Given the Raiders have made a $125 million investment in quarterback Derek Carr, keeping him healthy is important—and that's a big reason why they used their top pick on Miller.

With the Raiders and the Chargers squaring off in Los Angeles this weekend, Gruden will get a firsthand look at James. It's possible both Miller and James could go on to have great careers, but Gruden will always be wondering what could have been had Oakland drafted James.