Raiders Roster Evaluation: Jimmy Morrissey

The 2021 NFL Draft is now behind us, and that means teams across the NFL are in the process of piecing together their entire rosters.

The Las Vegas Raiders are likely no different before what could be a pivotal fourth season of the second Jon Gruden era.

That's why we'll be going over roster evaluations for the Raiders players and position groups to see how everyone's stock measures up heading into training camp.

Stories of hard work and perseverance are littered throughout the world of sports, and center Jimmy Morrissey's story is no different. 

Coming out of high school as a zero-star recruit, Morrissey only had three college offers, but decided instead to walk on at Pittsburgh and redshirt his first year. 

From his official redshirt freshman season on, Morrissey started for the Panthers the four years, becoming a three-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection. 

Coming into this year's draft, there weren't many other players who could tout that amount of experience. 

Morrissey has played in both run and pass-heavy offenses, and he's held steady ratings from Pro Football Focus in that time, being among the top-40 or so best at his position for the last three seasons. 

Morrissey is not the biggest player in the National Football League, but what he possesses is vital in the brutal game of football'  heart.  He is a fighter, a competitor, and a winner.

Morrissey is the kind of blue-collar, lunch pail player that built the reputation of the Silver and Black.  The All-American boy next door turns into the Tasmanian Devil once he crosses the white lines of the gridiron.  Those reasons are why Sports Illustrated's Raider Maven Publisher Hondo S. Carpenter, Sr., projects him to make the 53-man roster.

With Andre James in line for the starting center spot for the Raiders, Morrissey probably will begin his career fighting to be the primary backup. 

Morrissey has made a habit of defying expectations before, of course, so it'll be interesting to see if he will be able to do the same in the NFL.