The Las Vegas Raiders have a bit of a reputation during the NFL Draft for reaching to take the guy they want, regardless of when Roger Goodell takes the stage to read their selection. This year, that meant the team took Alex Leatherwood with the No. 17 pick. Leatherwood, an offensive lineman out of Alabama, was a decorated player in college, but was viewed as more of a day two prospect among prognosticators.
There are two bits of good news here for Raiders fans who might roll their eyes at the team going forward with a perceived reach. One is that Leatherwood was really good in Tuscaloosa, earning unanimous All-American nods in 2020 and winning the Outland Trophy, given annually to the nation’s best interior lineman. The other is that Leatherwood is a delightful character off the field, as evidenced by the following bit of information in bullet point No. 4.
Fun fact about the Raiders’ No. 17 pick Alex Leatherwood:
He’s a “meme connoisseur” with over 1,000 memes saved on his phone
#NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/OtpR8zqfTM
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) April 30, 2021
It is unclear exactly which memes Leatherwood relies on most as he gets points across, and Alex, if you are reading this, please feel free to reach out so we can discuss. Anyway, he also has extremely strong takes on dogs vs. cats, the latter of which he believes are “demons.”
“Who likes cats? Those are demons.”
Alex Leatherwood gave the ONLY acceptable answer to the tired “dog or cat” pre-draft interview question.#NFLNow @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/uAXaEu2GHc
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) April 19, 2021
Alabama had a record-tying night on Thursday, as six players were selected in the first round of the Draft. There will be plenty of debate as to who the most fun of those players is on the field, but off of it, Leatherwood seems to have the field lapped for now.