The National Football League Preseason games are 4 months away and the NFL organization already slated the Jacksonville Jaguars against the Las Vegas Raiders to feature in the opening salvo on August 4, 2022, 8:00 P.M. ET, Thursday, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, just outside the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The league likes to tie teams playing in the game to inductees into the Hall of Fame for this year’s ceremony.
The NFL Preseason Kickoff
The Jaguars and the Raiders will face off in the Professional Football Hall of Fame. Jacksonville Offensive Tackle Tony Boselli was chosen to be a member of this year’s Hall of Fame class from the Jaguars, the first-ever draft pick Hall of Fame member.
Boselli was a five-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time First-Team All-Pro selection in seven seasons. His career was cut short due to a shoulder injury. He was in his 16th year of eligibility but finally has made it to Canton.
Wide Receiver Cliff Branch will be in the Hall of Fame after a 14-year career with the Las Vegas Raiders. He won Super Bowls with the Raiders in 1976, 1980, and 1983 and was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time First-Team All-Pro selection. He is the league’s leader in receiving yards and TDs in 1974 and was selected to the Hall of Fame through the Senior Committee process.
Cliff Branch passed away in 2019. The Raiders will also induct former New England Patriots and Raiders defensive lineman Richard Seymour.
The Jacksonville Jaguars on Top 30 visits for Draft Picks
The tedious process of the draft pick selection went its course as the Jaguars hosted their top two potential recruits from their 30 visits.
Two players, Michigan Wolverines defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and North Carolina State Wolfpack offensive tackle Ickey Ekwonu, are vying to be selected first overall in the 2022 NFL Draft Pick.
Hutchinson and Ekwonu are potential number one NFL Draft Picks. The duo will also be visiting the New York Jets and the New York Giants as well.
DE Aidan Hutchinson, one of the top pass-rushers in this year’s draft class, capped his collegiate level with the Michigan Wolverines after compiling 17.5 sacks and 27.5 tackles for loss. That includes 16.5 TFLs and 14 sacks this past season. Hutchinson finished with the highest defensive tally in 2021, including the 2nd-best pass-rush grade at 93.4.
OT Ickey Ekownu, the former Wolfpack offensive lineman, made positive grades over his three years at North Carolina State University, according to PFF. He was the 7th-best offensive tackle in college football last year and the 5th-best run blocker with a grade of 92.1. In pass protection, Ekownu gave up just three sacks and 13 total pressures.
NFL teams have the chance to bring in 30 visiting potential recruits. These two players are the first to visit the Jacksonville grounds. The University of Florida Gators defensive lineman Zachary Carter also visited the franchise.
The Las Vegas Raiders Updated Order of Draft Picks
The trade deal with the Green Bay Packers included the first pick in the 2022 NFL Draft in Round 3 at No. 86. LAs Vegas sent their first and second-round draft picks to the Packers in exchange for Wide Receiver Davante Adams.
The Las Vegas Raiders got an extra fifth-round pick from the New England Patriots – after sending Offensive Tackle Trent Brown and a seventh-rounder to New England in 2021.
The Raiders also acquired a seventh-round pick from the Carolina Panthers via the trade for Pro Bowler Linebacker Denzel Perryman that sent their sixth-round pick to Carolina.
The trade was just in time for the Raiders with Nick Kwiatkoski, Nicholas Morrow, and Javin White coping with injuries. Perryman is expected to come in and have an immediate impact in defense he’s very familiar with.
The Significance of the No.86 Draft Pick
In NFL draft history, the significance of the no. the 86 draft pick brought luck and fortune to several squads.
Since 2000, Baltimore chose a pair of Pro Bowl players at no.86 in Guard Marshal Yanda in 2007 and TE Mark Andrews in 2018 with another three players taken on the same number. These Pro Bowlers landed in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
A No.86 Draft Pick by the Buffalo Bills in 1985
And there is Wide Receiver Andre Reed as the most decorated receiver drafted at no.86. Reed was drafted from Kutztown University by the Buffalo Bills.
The wide receiver had to wait for another year after Buffalo opted for Quarterback Jim Kelly in the first round. The pair went on to change the game for the Bills playing in four straight Super Bowls in four seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yardage. He played in the Pro Bowl selection for seven straight seasons.
Andre Reed is the franchise record holder in career receiving yards at 13,095 yards, catches (941), and touchdown receptions (86). His induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame was in 2014.
The New Orleans Saints’ No.86 Draft Pick in 1982
Morten K. Andersen, the 86th pick in the 1982 NFL Draft is one of three placekickers that cemented their way into the Hall of Fame. He played for the Michigan State Spartans in his college days and is second on the NFL’s all-time scoring leaderboard with 2,544 points.
Andersen played in 382 NFL matches for over 20 seasons of his career as a placekicker.
The Michigan State Spartan joined the League and went on to score 2,544 points topping the scoring leaderboard of the NFL. He played for 5 teams namely the New Orleans Saints (1982–1994), Atlanta Falcons (1995–2000), New York Giants (2001), Kansas City Chiefs (2002–2003), and Minnesota Vikings (2004) Atlanta Falcons (2006–2007).
Andersen’s career field goal completion percentage was nearly 80 percent. He scored points in a record 360 consecutive games as well.
The Danish kicker ended his career with five first-team All-Pro selections, and seven Pro Bowl selections and was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 1980s and 1990s. He was inducted in Canton in 2017.
No.86 Draft Pick, OT Jackie Slater, by the LA Rams in 1976
Slater was drafted by the Rams in 1976 after blocking for the legendary Walter Payton at Jackson State University. He never left the Rams in his entire 20 NFL seasons.
In Slater’s 259 NFL games played as an offensive tackle, he blocked for seven different 1,000-yard rushers, including Hall of Famers Eric Dickerson and Jerome Bettis. Slater was voted NFC Offensive Lineman of the Year four times by the NFLPA and was a seven-time Pro Bowler. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001.
Following his playing career, Slater served as a co-offensive line coach for the Raiders during the 2006 season.