Obi Melifonwu

Former Raiders safety Obi Melifonwu is signing with the Patriots Monday. He joins veterans Devin McCourty, Duron Harmon and Patrick Chung at the position.

Fantasy Impact

The 2017 56th overall pick was released by Oakland on October 23rd and took visits to the Cowboys, Saints, and Chiefs before signing with New England. In five games (one start) as a rookie, Melifonwu recorded six total tackles with no interceptions. He has not played in a game this season.

In a surprising move, the Oakland Raiders have given up on last year's second-round pick, defensive back Obi Melifonwu. The release came with the waived/injured designation. Melifonwu has been injured and only played 34 snaps as a rookie, but was lauded for his versatility coming out of UCONN.

Fantasy Impact

Ian Rapoport tweeted that the Raiders "never quite felt [Melifonwu] loved football enough." Jon Gruden is certainly putting his stamp on the team, but it is alarming to see Oakland give up on last year's No. 56 pick so soon. Once Melifonwu reaches an injury settlement with the Raiders, he'll attract plenty of interest when he's deemed healthy.