The six greatest first-round Raiders

By Os Davis  |   Tuesday, March 25, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

Oakland Raiders
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In the throes of incessantly compiling and recompiling mock drafts – Hey, what else is an NFL fan to do? Mess around with brackets? – this writer got to thinking about history, particularly in reference to a Oakland opportunity to draft ultra-talented legacy Raider Chris Long.

Like most franchises, the Raiders’ history on Draft Day is a big of a mixed bag well representing the hit-or-miss game that is the NFL draft. Today, a look at a half-dozen of Oakland’s greatest hits: First rounders who truly lived up to expectations and etched their names in history in black-and-silver.

• Gene Upshaw, 1971, no. 19 overall. In the very first synthesized draft between the erstwhile twin leagues of AFL and NFL, the Raiders scored big-time with Upshaw out of Texas A&I (today the school is known as Texas A&M University-Kingsville). After earning the starting left guard spot early in the 1971 season, Upshaw went on to become one of the all-time Raiders: When all was said and done, Upshaw played in 283 games regular-season games, 21 playoff games and the first three Raider Super Bowls. In terms of trivia, Upshaw is the only player to start on AFL and NFL champions, and he is the first full-time guard to receive Hall of Fame induction.

• Ray Guy, 1973, no. 23 overall. Surely considered strange even back in the early 70s, Oakland went ahead and took a punter in the first round in 1973. But to call Ray Guy “a punter” is like calling Johnny Unitas “a quarterback.” This time around, Guy was unfortunately denied on his sixth attempt to enter the Hall of Fame; no punter has been so honored, but figure if it ever happens, it’ll be Guy. Guy was a member of the NFL's 75th Anniversary Team in 1994, the Super Bowl Silver Anniversary Team of 1990, the league's All-1970s team, and the officially chosen AFL-NFL 1960-1984 All-Star Team. Best. Punter. Ever.

• Marcus Allen, 1982, no. 10 overall. In a strong draft class, the Raiders were denied John Riggins at no. 9, and so went for the local angle with the USC boy one pick later. The result? Oakland/Los Angeles got 11 mostly excellent seasons (and could’ve had a few more, had he not been forsaken for the legendary Greg Robinson in ’93), their all-time franchise rushing leader, and of course the greatest single Raider highlight ever.

• Tim Brown, 1988, no. 6 overall. At no. 6, Brown represented the earliest call for a wide receiver from the black-and-silver on Draft Day (and why not? The Raiders had three first-round picks that year), and truly one of the most astute. Brown was everything a first-round WR should be: flashy, quick and versatile. Brown wore Raider black for an incredible 16 seasons, playing nearly every game in 15 on offense and/or special teams. Today, he’s the all-time franchise leader in receiving, with an amazing 14,734 yards (or 8.37 miles) compiled in the regular season alone. Brown was everything a first-round “skill” player should be.

• Charles Woodson, 1998, no. 4 overall. Representing the earlies selection the Raiders ever made before last season’s no. 1 overall, the Heisman Trophy-winning cornerback (and still the sole pure defensive player to have bagged the award) joined Oakland and made an immediate splash as NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and four Pro Bowl bids in his first four seasons. Unfortunately, the injury bug settled in to limit Woodson’s playing time, particularly in 2002 and 2005, as did the realities of the salary cap era; Woodson took his game to Green Bay and is certainly still missed in Oaktown.

• Nnamdi Asomugha, 2003, no. 31 overall. Now here’s the way to follow up a Super Bowl appearance: Through the addition of a true defensive force late in the first round. Asomugha has been one of the few bright spots in a dark few seasons for Raider land; unfortunately, after just six seasons, it seems Asomugha will be departing next year after getting the franchise label affixed this season.

Tomorrow: some, um, not-so-good first-round choices.
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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