Oakland Raiders - worst drafters EVAR

By Jason Jones (posted by Rick Morris)

So I got to thinking about this JaMarcus Russell situation, as well as how terrible the McFadden and Heyward-Bey picks were. I decided to see how far back I would have to go to find even two back-to-back quality first round picks from the Raiders. I stopped after 25 years. Nnamdi and Woodson are the highlights. This is the worst drafting team in the last quarter century, I'm sure of it. And for the results...

-2010(8th)-Rolando McClain (Most people will disagree with me. I think McClain is overrated. He's slow and gets dragged too much. He's not a thumper. Patrick Willis and Ray Lewis I get this high. This: it’s like taking D'Qwell Jackson with the 8th overall.)
-2009(7th)-Darrius Heyward-Bey (Worst pick of the draft, a fast WR who can't catch...typical Al... See More Davis picks)
-2008(4th)-Darren McFadden (System back and tests much better than he plays. The Scout Ken Becks called this one to a "T.")
-2007(1st)-JaMarcus Russell (Can throw it 75yds from his knees, but who gives a sh&%. And with Calvin Johnson on the board, no less.)
-2006(7th)-Michael Huff (Now, don’t jump on it yet. He is decent, but to pick a safety in the top 10, he better be at least a Pro Bowler.)
-2005(23rd)-Fabian Washington (Not a terrible pick, but c'mon with Heath Miller, Logan Mankins and Roddy White still on the board, bad value.)
-2004(2nd)-Robert Gallery (My personal favorite, the Raider Nation proclaimed him as the next Jonathan Ogden...more like the next Tony Mandarich.)
-2003(31st)-Nnamdi Asomough (Okay, even the Raiders get one right occasionally. Insert "even a blind squirel" reference here.)
-2003(32nd)-Tyler Brayton (In '03, the pick looked better than it does now, still poor value for the first round.)
-2002(17th)-Phillip Buchanon (Played for a handful of teams and never lived up the “Number One Cover Corner” billing.)
-2002(23th)-Napolean Harris (Better of the two picks, but still an underachiever by any standard.)
-2001(28th)-Derrick Gibson (Seriously? Derrick freaking Gibson? Two picks later, Reggie Wayne...three picks later, Todd Heap.)
-2000(17th)-Sebastian Janikowski (Okay, by any standard a first round pick who is that starter at that position for ten years is technically not a bust...but you NEVER NEVER NEVER take a kicker that early.)
-1999(18th)-Matt Stinchcomb (He was ok, but not when you see who was still on the board...Antoine Winfield, Patrick Kerney, Al Wilson.)
-1998(4th)-Charles Woodson (First pick I have no problem with considering.)
-1998(23rd)Mo Collins (Doesn't even deserve a comment.)
-1997(2nd)-Darrell Russell (Yes, slight reach at #2 in my opinion, but a quality player. 2-time Pro Bowler at least.)
-1996(9th)-Ricky Dudley (And I thought we might see two good picks in a row...WRONG.)
-1995(18th)-Napoleon Kaufman (I wonder if they just pick "Napolean's" when they are in a draft? Derrick Brooks went 10 picks later.)
-1993(12th)-Patrick Bates (Don’t even remember him.)
-1992(16th)-Chester McGlockton (Don’t even remember him.)
-1991(24th)-Todd Marinovich (Wooo-Whooo!!! I love picks like that one, it’s a throwaway.)
-1990(11th)-Anthony Smith (Very unimpressive 6-year career, but a typical Raider pick)
-1988(6th)-Tim Brown (Very solid, actually. Not worthy of a top ten pick, but still had a solid career.)
-1988(9th)-Terry McDaniel (Can’t say the same for McDaniel here.)
-1987(15th)-John Clay (blah)
-1986(24th)-Bob Buczkowski (Can't say that it rings a bell)
-1985(23rd)-Jessie Hester (Yeah...I got nothin’.)

Now, that’s 25 years worth of first round picks. It is my hypothesis that the Raiders (whether Oakland or LA) are worst drafting team in the NFL in that time. It’s a miracle that they were able to get to a Super Bowl in that time.

As first round picks go, only six of them (Nnamdi Asomough, Napolean Harris, Sebastian Janikowski, Charles Woodson, Darrell Russell, and Tim Brown) were worth a damn and less deserved first round consideration.

Picks 20-32...Nnamdi (31st), N.Harris (23rd) were decent value picks. Especially Nnamdi, arguably no worse than the 2nd best shutdown corner in the game. Decent picks since they both came between 20-32.

Picks 15-19...Buchanon (17th), Janikowski (17th), Stinchcomb (18th), Kaufman (18th) were all unimpressive considering where they were drafted. If these men were 2nd or 3rd round picks, the sentiment would be different.

Picks 10-14...Terrible, just terrible. Luckily, there weren't many of them.

Picks 1-9...McClain (8th), Heyward-Bey (7th), McFadden (4th), J.Russell (1st), Huff (7th), Gallery (2nd), Woodson (4th), D.Russell (2nd), Dudley (9th), T.Brown (6th), McDaniel (9th). If it weren't for Charles Woodson and Darrell Russell, EVERY SINGLE TOP TEN PICK FOR THE RAIDERS would have been unconditional reaches.

There is a reason the Raiders are generally the laughingstock of the NFL. In an era where teams like the Patriots, Steelers, Colts, and Chargers all consistently compete at high level by effectively drafting well, it’s about time the Raiders take a hint. Teams cannot expect to succeed in the current NFL if each of their top ten first round picks have a 91% change of failure (or bust potential). The sad truth for Raiders fans is that until Al Davis either, 1) Sells the team 2) Gives real authority to someone else or 3) Dies, the Raiders will not have a return to a "Committed to Excellence" level of expectation.