Draft Weekend Recap

Grading the Raiders 2007 Draft weekend (note that means everything they did on Saturday & Sunday, not just who they drafted), I’d have to give the team a B. Many are saying the Raiders had a monster draft, but there were some major holes that didn’t get resolved. Most notable was the absence of any help on the offensive line. They got the quarterback that they missed on in 2006, but they need to shore up the roster spots that will protect their new field general.

I was pretty surprised to see the Raiders move down to start the 2nd round rather than parlay the 1st pick in that round along with something else to move up in the 1st round. The 49ers found a way to land New England’s 1st rounder (28th overall) to land tackle Joe Staley from Central Michigan.

The Raiders are traditionally the team that makes that kind of move, especially given the holes that exist on the offensive line. By swapping 2nd round picks with the Arizona Cardinals, the Raiders lost out on Arron Sears, then they made what I consider a huge blunder in passing on Justin Blalock from Texas.

Blalock is a kid that can play both tackle and guard, and he’s been a rock in terms of his durability. He started a school record 51 games at Texas, earning nominations for the Outland Trophy and the Lombardi Award.

Not sure I also understand the move they made to take Zach Miller with the 38th overall pick. Miller was Arizona State’s only receiving option this season and was regarded as the best tight end in the draft, but pass catching tight ends are worthless if your quarterback is buried under a swarm of defensive linemen.

Oakland didn’t address its line issue until late in the 3rd round when they took Mario Henderson from Florida State. Henderson draws comparisons to former Florida St standout Walter Jones, but he was a late bloomer. He’s a tall lanky kid at 6-6, that has to work on his strength in order to deal with NFL defensive linemen.

I don’t think anyone will argue the JaMarcus Russ pick and the Raiders pick up a worthy sacrificial lamb in Josh McCown to take be the primary tackling dummy under center next season. The acquisition of Mike Williams may turn out to be the bigger part of the Raiders trade with the Detroit Lions. Williams has been considered a bust in Detroit after the Lions selected him with the 10th overall pick in 2005, but he is reunited with Kiffin, who has lots of history with the former USC star.

The steals of the draft may turn out to be Michael Bush and Quentin Moses. Bush, a RB from Louisville, was considered a Heisman candidate before breaking his leg in the Cardinal’s first game of the season in 2006. At 6-3, 250 lbs, Bush will be able to deal with the punishment that NFL defenders will dish out. He played quarterback in high school, where he was voted Kentucky’s top prep star. In three season’s at Louisville he compiled 2,508 rushing yards and 39 touchdowns on 435 carries (5.8 avg).

Moses has the athleticism to be a defensive monster. He played basketball for Georgia and is a rangy defender with quick reflexes. In 51 games at Georgia, Moses started 26 times. He recorded 137 tackles (93 solos) and finished fifth in school history with 25 quarterback sacks for minus-174 yards. He added 44½ stops for losses of 234 yards and collected 95 quarterback pressures. He recovered four fumbles, caused another and deflected three passes.

Jay Richardson will probably be converted to line backer in the NFL, although he’ll need to work on his footwork. He started 19 games at Ohio State and has a long frame that will disrupt middle range passes.

By far, the biggest move the Raiders made was ridding themselves of receiver Randy Moss. Forget the compensation that came in return for the locker room cancer. The Raiders start with a clean slate, free of the distractions that persisted even during the off-season. Jerry Porter becomes the main man in Oakland, so now he gets to prove that the Raiders made the right decision to keep him.

Porter, Doug Gabriel, Alvis Whitted, Ronald Curry and Mike Williams doesn’t exactly strike fear in the minds of defensive backs, but if one or two of those guys can demonstrate an ability to get past secondary coverages, then it may not matter, because you have a cannon armed quarterback who can just chuck the ball over defenders in a couple of years.