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Fast Facts: Getting to know new Raiders OL Alex Leatherwood

Apr 29, 2021 at 08:23 PM

Raiders.com Staff

The Raiders bolstered their offensive line with their first pick in the 2021 NFL Draft on Thursday night, choosing Alabama's Alex Leatherwood with the No. 17 overall pick.

Now it's time for Raider Nation to get to know the former Outland Trophy winner and key member of the Crimson Tide's National Championship squad.

He's a "meme connoisseur"!

How many memes do you have saved on your phone? According to ESPN, Leatherwood has more than 1,000.

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

Not a cat guy...

Leatherwood stole the show on NFL Network when Andrew Siciliano asked him if he was a dog or cat guy.

"It was a no-brainer. Who likes cats? Those are demons," Leatherwood joked.

“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

Another famous Raiders OL likes Leatherwood

After the pick, Lincoln Kennedy weighed in, following his coverage of the draft for Raiders.com.

Love the pick at 17. Alex Leatherwood welcome to THE RAIDERS!!
— Lincoln Kennedy (@LKennedy72) April 30, 2021

His mentor was a multi-sport star

One of Leatherwood's mentors is Charlie Ward, who famously won the Heisman Trophy before switching sports and playing in the NBA.

Says Leatherwood:

Charlie Ward, he was a great coach and mentor because he'd been there before at the collegiate level, as far as college football. Even though he went the NBA route he still gave me a bunch of tips and pointers on being a professional athlete, along with being a collegiate athlete, and what it takes to be successful and everything that was going to be expected of me. I'm super grateful and lucky to have had him as a coach.

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