Instagram has announced Enhanced Tags on Reels, which is going to allow creators to receive credit for their work. The Enhanced Tags feature was launched for Instagram Feed in March, but now the social media platform has rolled out the same feature to Reels as well. Previously, users found alternative ways to credit each other, such as tagging one another in captions or photos on the platform, but now they can directly give credits by tagging them in Reels also, as per the company.
“Enhanced tags allow a creator’s self-designated profile category on their professional accounts to be displayed in their People Tag so that people can share and view a creator’s specific contribution to a photo or video post. And as Reels also continues to be the largest contributor to engagement growth on Instagram, we’re excited to expand enhanced tags to Reels. Simply put—if you’re a makeup artist, songwriter or another significant collaborator on a post, your contributions will be more visible in the post or Reel,” Instagram explained in an Instagram post.
How to use the Enhanced Tags feature on Reels
To use the new Enhanced Tags on reels, follow the instructions below;
Open the Instagram app and tap the (+) in the top right corner.
Create a new Post and tap Next.
Make any creative edits and then tap Next.
After writing a caption, tap Tag People.
Select Add Tag and search and select your contributors.
Tap Show Profile Category to display the creator category.
And finally, once the user has added additional tags and details, they can tap Share.
“Proper creative credit and recognition is a starting point for discovery, new opportunities and economic empowerment. This is especially relevant as more creators collaborate. Until now, the Instagram community has come together to support creators and has found alternative ways to credit each other, such as tagging one another in captions and photos, so we’re now bringing this feature to our product,” Instagram added.
Moreover, Instagram is reportedly testing out a new feature called Templates for Reels, which provides creators with the option to make reels by borrowing formats from other videos available on the platform. Using this feature, the user can easily borrow the format of another reel and replace the videos with their own content.
Moto G62 5G is expected to be nearing its release as a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) listing indicates that the company has registered the accompanying charger in all major regions. A Motorola smartphone with model number XT2223-1 and XT2223-2, which supposedly belongs to the Moto G62 5G series, were spotted on the Wi-Fi alliance database revealing a few specifications of the upcoming handset from Motorola. A recent leak also indicated that the handset will come with a full-HD+ display and a high refresh rate. Motorola had recently launched the Moto G52 in India.
The Moto G62 from Motorola was spotted on the US FCC by MySmartPrice with the model number XT2223-2. The alleged listing indicates that the phone will launch in various locations globally as the charger for the handset is registered for locations including the US, EU, Australia, the UK, Brazil, and India among others.
The smartphone with model number XT2223-1 and XT2223-2 which is expected to belong to the Moto G62 5G series were also spotted on the Wi-Fi Alliance database by MySmartPrice, tipping a few specifications of the upcoming handset from Motorola. The alleged listing indicates that the smartphone from Motorola will support dual-band Wi-Fi and run on Android 12 OS out-of-the-box.
Motorola Moto G62 5G specifications (expected)
A recent leak from Passionategeekz regarding the Moto G62 5G indicates that smartphone may come with a full-HD+ display with higher refresh rate, The handset will run on Android 12 out-of-the-box with up to 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. The leak also says that there is a presence of a side mounted scanner in the handset.
For optics, the Moto G62 may feature a quad pixel triple rear camera and the 5G variant of the Moto G62 may also sport stripes on the rear body. The handset is expected to sport a middle hole-punch shooter for selfies. The smartphone is said to be powered by a 6000mAh battery with up to 33W fast charging support.
Motorola recently launched the Moto G52 in India. The new Motorola phone, which is the successor to last year’s Moto G51 5G, comes with a 90Hz pOLED display and carries triple rear cameras. The smartphone also comes with dual stereo speakers that are equipped with Dolby Atmos support and Snapdragon sound technology. The Moto G52 is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 SoC and comes with up to 6GB of RAM. It also carries up to 128GB of onboard storage.
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Amid incidents of electric two-wheelers catching fire, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday urged companies to take advance action to recall all defective vehicles, even as he said there is some problem with EV batteries when the temperature rises in the months of March, April and May. The Road Transport and Highways Minister also acknowledged that the country’s EV industry has “just started” and emphasised that the government does not want to put up a hurdle.
“But safety is the highest priority for the government and there can be no compromise with human lives,” Gadkari said at the Raisina Dialogue.
His comments assume significance against the backdrop of multiple incidents of Electric Vehicles (EVs) catching fire and resulting in deaths and severe injuries to people.
During an interactive session, Gadkari reiterated that companies may take advance action to recall all defective batches of vehicles immediately.
“In March-April-May, the temperature rises, then there is some problem with the battery (of EVs). I feel that it (electric two-wheelers catching fire) is a problem of (high) temperature,” he said.
The road transport and highways minister noted that the government wants to make EVs popular.
“We understand that the EV industry has just started. We don’t want to put a hurdle. But safety is the highest priority for the government and there can be no compromise with human lives,” Gadkari asserted.
Last week, Gadkari, who is known for his frank views, had said that the companies found negligent will be penalised and a recall of all defective vehicles will be ordered after receiving the report of an expert panel that has been formed to enquire into the matter.
The government had ordered a probe last month after an e-scooter launched by ride-hailing operator Ola’s electric mobility arm caught fire in Pune.
The Centre for Fire Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES) had been asked to probe the circumstances that led to the incident and also suggest remedial measures, according to the road transport ministry. The ministry had also asked CFEES to share the findings along with its suggestions on measures to prevent such incidents
Microsoft has recently updated the Microsoft 365 roadmap giving a hint of its upcoming release, Microsoft Teams. Users soon will be able to download it from the Microsoft Store that comes with Windows. Microsoft Teams in the Microsoft Store will provide Windows 10 and Windows 11 users with a simple way to install the programme. Microsoft’s communication app was not available in its store till now. It either had to be installed from the Web or downloaded alongside the rest of Microsoft Office 365.
Microsoft is currently providing two versions of Microsoft Teams – a ‘regular’ version that can be downloaded directly from the official website and one built-in Windows 11 version. Whereas Windows 10 has not received built-in Microsoft Teams capabilities yet, Windows 11 users, on the other hand, will have to stick to the built-in Chat app one can find on the taskbar.
Microsoft Teams will be available on the Microsoft Store probably in the next month, for Windows 10 and Windows 11 users, according to the roadmap update.
“Microsoft Team app for work, school and life will soon be available to download from Microsoft Store. This app will support work, school and consumer accounts on Windows 10 and work or school accounts in Windows 11,” the roadmap explains.
Moreover, Microsoft Teams has recently added five new features that focus on reducing stress for frontline workers. These new features are the Walkie Talkie app, managing virtual appointments, Microsoft Viva, Reflexis Shifts Connector, and audio notification for a misplaced device.
This week on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, we discuss the Surface Pro 8, Go 3, Duo 2, and Laptop Studio — as Microsoft sets a vision for Windows 11 hardware. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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Poco F4 GT smartphone was launched globally on Tuesday. The smartphone is a rebranded version of the Redmi K50 Gaming Edition handset that was launched in China earlier this year. The Poco F4 GT is marketed as a ‘hardcore gaming flagship’ that delivers ‘apex performance’ with the help of UFS 3.1 storage, LPDDR5 RAM, Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, and LiquidCool Technology 3.0. It comes with magnetic pop-up triggers, a CyberEngine super wide-band X-axis motor, and four speakers (two tweeters and two woofers).
Poco F4 GT price, availability
The Poco F4 GT price has been set at EUR 599 (roughly Rs. 49,000) for the 8GB RAM + 128GB storage model. It will be available at an early bird price of EUR 499 (roughly Rs. 40,800). There is a 12GB + 256GB variant which is priced at EUR 699 (roughly Rs. 57,100) model. The early bird price for this variant is EUR 599 (roughly Rs. 49,000). The phone will be available for purchase from April 28 in Cyber Yellow, Knight Silver, and Stealth Black colour options on various online platforms.
Poco F4 GT specifications
The dual-SIM Poco F4 GT runs Android 12-based MIUI 13. It sports a 6.67-inch full-HD+ (1,080×2,400 pixels) AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate, and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection. It comes with a 480Hz touch sampling rate, and Displaymate A+ rating, as per Poco. The Poco F4 GT phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC that is paired with LiquidCool Technology 3.0. The technology offers dual VC cooling with 4,860mm square heat dissipation area to keep the temperature under control. Poco is offering up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM with the phone.
For photography, the Poco F4 GT smartphone comes with a triple rear camera setup. There is a 64-megapixel Sony IMX686 primary sensor, which is paired with a 6P lens that has an f/1.9 aperture. There is an 8-megapixel sensor paired with an ultra-wide f/2.2 lens that has a 120-degree field-of-view, and a 2-megapixel macro shooter with f/2.4 lens. The camera setup also gets a Flicker Sensor that allows you to capture clean images when taking photos from screens. For selfies, the phone comes with a 20-megapixel camera that has a Sony IMX596 sensor and f/2.4 lens.
Poco F4 GT sports an AMOLED display, quad-speakers, and trigger buttons Photo Credit: Poco Global
The Poco F4 GT comes with RGB lights on the camera module. These light up when you are playing, when the phone is on charging, and also to show notifications. The smartphone also gets magnetic pop-up trigger buttons for great gaming experience. Other features on the Poco smartphone include triple microphone setup, Symmetrical quad speakers (two tweeters and two woofers) with Dolby Atmos, and CyberEngine ultra-wideband X-axis motor.
The Poco F4 GT smartphone comes with up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. Connectivity options include 5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth v5.2, GPS/A-GPS, and a USB Type-C port. Sensors on board include accelerometer, ambient light sensor, barometer, gyroscope, magnetic compass, and proximity sensor.
The Poco F4 GT gets a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, and an AI Face Unlock feature for biometric security. The Poco phone also comes with a 4,700mAh battery with 120W fast wired charging, which is claimed to fully charge the phones from zero to 100 percent in 17 minutes. The phone measures 162.5×76.7×8.5mm and weighs 210 grams.
On the April 25 episode of the hit talent show, the “I Kissed a Girl” singer had an awkward moment after contestant Noah Thompson performed a John Mayer song. When Thompson guessed it was Perry who chose “Heartbreak Warfare” for him to perform instead of John Denver‘s “Take Me Home,” Perry—who previously dated Mayer—replied, “Noah, I feel like you should maybe Wikipedia me. I picked John Denver.”
After judge Luke Bryan admitted to choosing the song for Thompson, Perry said, “It’s all a great song—I can’t talk anymore.”
The “Hot N Cold” singer, 34, then hid under the desk while everyone laughed, before jokingly asking, “Who’s going to pay for my extra hour of therapy?”
Thompson may not have realized that Perry and Mayer had a romantic past.
The “Your Body Is a Wonderland” singer, 44, and Perry began dating in the summer of 2012. The pair called it quits several times before ultimately ending things in 2015.
When the horn sounded Monday night in Barclays Center, the Celtics completed their series sweep over the Nets. With an average margin of victory of +4.5, the third smallest margin of victory in a four-game series sweep in League history, the Celtics showed a much-improved ability to close out games.
Boston star Jaylen Brown included the need to continue to get better on the Celtics’ to-do list following this series.
“A lot [on how much confidence this win gives the Celtics]. As you maneuver through the playoffs, that’s a part of it — teams gain more and more confidence, so we’re looking forward to our group continuing to get better.”
Brown averaged 22.5, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game during the first round of the playoffs.
Brown’s Celtics were the only team in the League to sweep their opponent in the first round, giving them an extra few days of valuable rest. Boston will face the winner of the Bucks versus Bulls series, which is currently 3-1 in Milwaukee’s favor.
America’s housing market may soon be facing its next bubble as home prices across the country continue to be fueled by demand, speculation and lavish spending that could result in a collapse. Moreover, many homeowners are opting to stay put due to climbing mortgage rates, creating a housing shortage.
Data from the Federal National Mortgage Association, commonly known as Fannie Mae, found that 92% of homeowners think their current home is affordable. Yet, findings further show that 69% of the general population, consisting of both homeowners and renters, believe it’s becoming too difficult to find affordable housing.
Web3 and the real-estate market
While the fate of the United States housing market remains unclear, the rise of Web3 business models based around nonfungible tokens (NFTs), blockchain technology and cryptocurrency aim to solve many of the problems currently plaguing America’s trillion-dollar real estate market.
Jerry Chu, CEO of tokenization platform Lofty AI, told Cointelegraph that although real estate is one of the best asset classes for wealth creation across the globe, most people can’t access it due to three main reasons:
“Real estate, especially today, is expensive. Even if someone could get a mortgage, many times a down payment requires too much cash. The real estate process is also frustrating, as mortgages need to be approved and a title escrow process could take up to 60 days. Finally, there isn’t much liquidity in real estate, therefore sellers will likely lose money if they wish to quickly liquidate.”
In order to make real estate attainable for the masses, Chu decided to create a platform that could fractionalize properties. Known as Lofty AI, Chu explained that the platform is built on the Algorand blockchain and consists of various turnkey rental properties that multiple investors can fractionally purchase for as little as $50. “You can think of every property as its own mini blockchain on the Algorand network. Assets, or unique tokens, are created for every property listed. The token supply is different depending on how expensive the properties are,” said Chu.
While the concept of tokenizing real estate has become rather common — for instance, Cointelegraph research recently found that thereal estate sector makes up 89% of all traded security tokens — Chu pointed out that Lofty is an active investing platform. “Similar platforms invest in real estate and flip properties to customers, but we allow investors to manage these properties and continually earn rewards and income.”
A property featured on Lofty AI. Source: Lofty AI
Elaborating on this, Chu explained that Lofty is based on a co-ownership model where the deeds for each property listed on the marketplace are held and owned by a limited liability company, or LLC. When investors purchase tokens, they immediately become a member of that entity, meaning they own a percentage of that business.
Like other decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, Lofty has a governance system that allows token holders to vote on how to manage the properties they own. “Token holders need to reach a supermajority vote of 60% for decisions to be acted upon. The winning vote is then sent to the property manager to carry out. These decisions could include maintenance, rent changes, eviction decisions and more.”
Chu added that investors can also earn portions of rental income generated from tenants, which can either be withdrawn to a bank account or donated to Mercy Housing, an affordable housing organization. “Most Lofty users care about the appreciation of their tokens on the properties they buy into, and, therefore, donate their earned income to affordable housing programs,” Chu mentioned.
While this may be, Chu emphasized that the goal behind Lofty is to make real estate investing more accessible simply. “This seems to be the case, as the platform launched last year and already has close to 4,000 users,” he said. Takahito Torimoto, a solutions architect and Lofty user, further told Cointelegraph that he has been a real estate investor for a few years, but Lofty has been an ideal solution due to the platform’s liquidity and returns. “There are no fees for users, and given the current real estate market, Lofty appears much better for a very big part of my ‘early retirement’ strategy,” he remarked.
In addition to Lofty, mortgage lender LoanSnap launched a mortgage-backed stablecoin on their Bacon Protocol at the end of last year. Karl Jacob, CEO of LoanSnap and co-founder of Bacon Protocol, told Cointelegraph that while a mortgage-backed token solves many issues associated with stablecoins, these digital assets also benefit current homeowners and buyers.
Technically speaking, LoanSnap has minted NFTs tied to individual mortgage liens, which are property ownership rights that collateralize mortgage loans. Those NFTs are then used to back LoanSnap’s stablecoin known as the “bHome token.” Jacob explained that this system is beneficial for a number of reasons:
“Mortgage-backed stablecoins are advantageous to homeowners and buyers because speed is everything in a real-estate transaction. This process works quickly since it leverages the Ethereum blockchain. You can see a loan getting closed and funded in a matter of 24-hours or less, depending on state compliance.”
In other words, wrapping an NFT around a mortgage lien and putting that asset on a blockchain network allows anyone access to those records. “We provide the minimal amount of data, so individuals can only see the address of a property, the lien size and property value,” said Jacob.
Jacob claimed that the bHome stablecoin also opens up access to the U.S. housing market. “Investors that buy into the bHome token are gaining exposure to the housing market without having to own a home. This is simply a pool of mortgages across the country that offers a great way to participate without the costs associated with homeownership.” While the platform is fairly new, Jacob shared that about 30 mortgages on LoanSnap are being used for its stablecoin pool, noting that the platform has lent out over $7 million against its $42 million home value on the platform.
Some U.S. real estate properties have also recently been sold as NFTs, a concept that seems to be attracting Generation-Z homebuyers. This is important, as data shows that Gen Z’s only made up 2% of all home sales in 2020. Natalia Karayaneva, CEO and co-founder of Propy — a blockchain-based real estate platform — told Cointelegraph that Proppy hasrecently sold three NFT properties: one in Kyiv and two in Florida. “We are the first platform to sell real estate as NFTs, which has resulted in a number of benefits for first-time buyers and sellers,” said Karayaneva.
Tampa home that recently sold as an NFT on Propy. Source: Propy
On a technical level, Karayaneva explained that Propy is able to do this by selling tokenized LLC properties. The purchase records for each property live on the Ethereum blockchain. Once a property sells, the ownership rights are transferred as an NFT to the homebuyer’s wallet address. Karayaneva elaborated:
“The most recent NFT property that sold in Tampa was purchased using the USD Coin stablecoin. Bidding happened in real-time and ownership was transferred in 15 minutes upon closing the sale, which simplifies and speeds up the entire traditional home buying process. This is important because the U.S. housing market is so competitive today that people don’t have time to wait. NFT properties are also fully transparent, so prospective buyers can make informed decisions by seeing any appraisals, contingencies and anything else up front.”
Given the transparency and fast-paced nature of NFT home sales, Karayaneva mentioned that the concept is particularly appealing to the younger generation. “The two properties we sold in Florida attracted many Gen Z’s since you can now buy a house with the click of a button,” she said. Karayaneva added that older clients have expressed interest regarding how secure this process is since everything is recorded on an immutable blockchain ledger.
Giving homeowners access to their data with NFTs
Blockchain Home Registry (BHR) is yet another Web3 project using NFTs to represent homeownership. BHR is a DeFi platform built on the Ethereum blockchain that allows homeowners to claim a verified NFT of their property, giving them access to a permanent, transferrable historical record of their home. James Rogers, CEO of Torii Homes — a real estate technology company that developed BHR — told Cointelegraph:
“While people today own their homes, they don’t own the data associated with it. For example, a title company often knows more about an owner’s home history than they do.There is an opportunity for the entire real estate industry to collaborate with homeowners to make sure individuals own the data associated with their homes.”
Rogers explained that BHR allows homeowners to claim their home as a verified NFT upon completion of a thorough Know Your Customer (KYC) process. Once verified, homeowners’ NFTs are placed on the BHR platform, which then allows for organizations across the real estate industry to build services by consuming data from the platform. This allows both organizations and homeowners the ability to monetize their data.
Blockchain Home Registry dashboard example. Source: Torri Homes
Zach Gorman, co-founder of Torri Homes, told Cointelegraph that homeowners are able to see all their home documents in a dashboard on the BHR platform. “Homeowners can add and maintain their records over time and can then choose to monetize that data by letting other organizations access it.” For example, Gorman explained that an insurance company could more efficiently quote policies using data about homes listed on BHR:
“At the same time, the data added would inform homeowners about risks such as fire or flood that they could face. And, when another insurance company builds an integration on top of the data added, they would compensate the first company for their data. Even if the homeowner chooses to work with the latter company, the former still wins, as well.”
Gorman added that although BHR just launched on April 26, a number of homeowners and service providers have expressed interest in using the platform. “The power of data has never been put on the table before for homeowners, so this is a huge opportunity to democratize that and put power back into homeowners’ hands.”
Challenges may hamper adoption
While Web3 solutions may help solve many of the challenges currently facing homeowners and buyers, it remains questionable as to how the mainstream will react to these innovations.
For instance, Karayaneva shared that properties sold as NFTs through Propy must be purchased using the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin, yet this may be challenging for non-crypto natives. Even though Karayaneva mentioned that Propy helps facilitate the transfer of fiat to USDC, users who wish to buy an NFT home may also find it difficult due to the fact that loans cannot be taken out. “Currently, we are only accepting full cash offers, but we are working on incorporating a solution to get crypto enabled mortgages on the spot,” said Karayaneva.
From a technical perspective, it’s important to point out that most of the Web3 solutions mentioned are based on the Ethereum blockchain, which is infamous for high gas fees. Jacob shared that, while using the Ethereum network has been beneficial for Bacon Protocol, the team behind the project has worked hard to hide high gas fees from bHome purchasers. On the other hand, Chu said that he chose to build Lofty on the Algorand blockchain due to its low gas fees. “Lofty sends small transfers to user’s wallets regularly, so if this was built on another chain with high gas fees that would cost much more,” he said.
Finally, it’s important to point out that legal issues may arise when applying NFTs and DeFi standards to real estate transactions. With this in mind, Jacob shared that LoanSnap conducted massive amounts of research when considering the regulatory components associated with a mortgage-backed stablecoin. “LoanSnap is regulated and audited by the state, so we already have regulations in place. The question people ask is if this is a security, but the interesting thing about mortgages is that they are not securities.”
Challenges aside, Rogers said that homeowners and buyers using Web3 solutions like BHR don’t need to fully understand the components behind the platforms, they just need to know that they work. “When I explain BHR, people are interested even if they don’t know much about NFTs and blockchain. The idea here is to onboard new users to the Web3 space and transform the traditional real estate industry. That is what excites us.”
With its proton beams, the newly enhanced Large Hadron Collider (LHC) set a new world record. The LHC, which is housed at CERN near Geneva, Switzerland, reopened on April 22 after a planned three-year sabbatical during which the facility was upgraded. These improvements are already being put to the test, and the LHC has already broken a previous record in restarting and preparing for its new working phase, known as Run 3. This particle accelerator is the world’s biggest and most powerful. The LHC accelerated protons to higher energy levels than ever before in a test run done shortly after it was turned back on.
The world’s most powerful particle facility’s two pilot beams accelerated to record energy of 6.8 teraelectronvolts (TeV) per beam.
In a tweet on its official handle, CERN wrote, “Today the two LHC pilot beams of protons were accelerated, for the first time, to the record energy of 6.8 TeV per beam. After restarting LHC, this operation is part of the activities to recommission the machine in preparation of LHC Run3, planned for the summer of 2022.”
CERN also shared a video with the tweet. Jorg Wenninger, Head of the LHC Beam Operations Section, was heard in the video explaining that this was the start of the LHC’s long commissioning phase after the upgrades, with the first collision expected in six to eight weeks.
Today the two #LHC pilot beams of protons were accelerated, for the first time, to the record energy of 6.8 TeV per beam. ????
Since December 2018, when it was shut down for maintenance, the LHC has been idle till now. It works by accelerating two beams of protons in opposite directions. These high-energy beams clash, allowing particle physicists to probe the far reaches of the physical universe and even uncover previously unknown parts of physics.
The energy of the LHC’s proton beams was anticipated to grow from 6.5 TeV to 6.8 TeV thanks to improvements made during the planned closure. In terms of kinetic energy, one TeV is equal to one trillion electron volts and about equals the energy of a mosquito flying. While this may appear to be a modest quantity of energy, it is a huge amount of energy for a single proton.
The LHC, which began operations on September 10, 2008, is the most recent addition to CERN’s accelerator complex. It is a 27-kilometer circular tunnel of superconducting magnets with a number of accelerating structures to raise the energy of the particles along the way, and it is located underground.
HENDERSON, Nev. — While we’ve already addressed the Las Vegas Raiders‘ overall draft woes of late — only six of their 68 draft picks from 2012-19 have been signed to second consecutive contracts and just three of their first-round draft picks since 2005 have been signed to extensions — there has been a bright spot.
As in … a silver lining to a decidedly black cloud.
Because for every JaMarcus Russell, Rolando McClain, D.J. Hayden and Gareon Conley as first-round flops, the Raiders have unearthed midround gems such as defensive tackle Justin Ellis, defensive end Maxx Crosby, receiver Hunter Renfrow and cornerback Nate Hobbs.
Call it a certain sweet spot.
And since the Raiders do not have a selection in this year’s draft until the third round at No. 86 overall — the first- and second-round picks went to the Green Bay Packers for receiver Davante Adams — the challenge for the new regime of general manager Dave Ziegler and coach Josh McDaniels is to keep that pluck (luck?) going.
Good thing Ziegler believes this year’s draft has quality depth, then, right?
“I think when you find players in the midrounds that ultimately develop into core contributors for your team, there’s a level of pride in finding those guys because … there’s always the kind of the players that have risen to the top for one reason or another,” Ziegler said at his recent pre-draft media conference.
“Not that all those players pan out. We know that they don’t.”
As such, Ellis was taken in the fourth round at No. 107 overall in 2014 by the regime of GM Reggie McKenzie and coach Dennis Allen and played five years for the Raiders. Crosby (fourth round, No. 106 in 2019), Renfrow (fifth round, No. 149 in 2019) and Hobbs (fifth round, No. 167 in 2021) were selected by coach Jon Gruden and GM Mike Mayock.
Ellis has continued to produce, having spent the past three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens before signing with the New York Giants this spring. Crosby, the defensive MVP of the most recent Pro Bowl, just inked a four-year, $94 million extension with the Raiders on March 11 after racking up 25 sacks in his first three seasons and leading the NFL with 108 total pressures this past season, per Pro Football Focus.
Renfrow is also in line for a new deal after catching 103 passes in 2021, the second-highest single-season total by a receiver in franchise history behind the 104 receptions Hall of Famer Tim Brown had in 1997. Hobbs was PFF’s highest-graded cornerback when lined up in the slot last season with a grade of 81.5.
Yeah, those are foundation pieces, players the Raiders found on Day 3 of the draft.
The New England Patriots also had success with Day 3 finds during Ziegler’s time in the Patriots’ personnel department. Since he was hired by New England in 2013, the Patriots have found players such as running back James White (fourth round, 2014), defensive end Trey Flowers (fourth round, 2015), guard Shaq Mason (fourth round, 2015), guard Ted Karras (sixth round, 2016), defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. (fourth round, 2017), guard Mike Onwenu (sixth round, 2020) and running back Rhamondre Stevenson (fourth round, 2021) on the final day of the draft.
Again, unless the Raiders trade up into the first or second round — “Always a chance for a trade,” Ziegler said with a grin — his regime will again have to make its hay late in those middle rounds.
And keep this in mind — Ziegler reiterated McDaniels’ philosophy of drafting the best player available, regardless of position.
“I mean, if we draft three [players] in the same position in a row, because they’re clearly the three best players when it’s our turn to draft, I mean, you make a strength stronger,” McDaniels said at the NFL owners meetings last month.
The Raiders’ biggest strengths are at the offensive skill positions and their pass-rushers, positions that will be the most sought-after in the early rounds. So perhaps quality players at their biggest positional needs of offensive line and cornerback can still be found in those middle rounds.
Plug-and-play guys? It worked for Ellis, Crosby, Renfrow and Hobbs, and remember, Ziegler lauded the depth of this draft.
“You’re judged on the personnel side by the players that you draft and how well they produce and the types of players that they turn into for the organization,” Ziegler said. “And so, there’s a competitive aspect of wanting to draft players. You want every single draft pick and every single player that you sign, you want that player to produce and overproduce in an ideal situation.
“Yeah, we want to have a great draft. Sure, you want to be known as a team that drafts well and that develops talent and all those types of things. Whatever round that is, we want to make sure that we’re able to do that.”
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The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
