During the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders moved down from the 10th overall pick to the 15th spot in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals. At that spot, the Raiders used the selection to take former UCLA offensive tackle Kolton Miller.
It was a move that drew a bit of a surprise reaction given the type of defensive talent that was still on the board at that point. However, this decision had immediately caught the brunt fury of former Pro Bowl offensive tackle Donald Penn, who recently voiced on an appearance on Michael Rapoport's Podcast that he had called head coach Jon Gruden to voice his anger. (h/t Tyler Green of Silver and Black Pride)
“I’m not going to lie, as soon as I saw the draft pick, I called Gruden immediately. Like ‘man, what the f–k?’,” Penn said on Michael Rapoport’s podcast. “He didn’t answer, but when I saw him the next Monday, he was joking with me saying, ‘You were ready to kick my ass, huh, Donald?! You were mad as a motherf–ker!’”
There was plenty of reason for Penn to be angry given that Miller plays the same position as him and the choice to take him in early in the first round shows that the team sees him as a long-term fixture for the franchise. At the same time, the 35-year-old is nearing the end of his deal with two years left.
The move signals that the team is looking ahead to when Penn will either step away from the game or when his contract will expire in the 2020 offseason. He is still playing at a high level but the clock is certainly ticking on how much longer he will be in the league.
Penn has since stepped back from this angry approach to voice that he is willing to mentor Miller and take him under his wing to help him along. If anything, this little anecdote from the veteran gives insight into what thoughts immediately crossed his mind after that selection was made.
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