Raiders Have a History of Finding Treasures Buried in the Draft's Second Round

(Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

The Oakland Raiders have had lots of success in the second round of the NFL draft. I originally wanted to make this a slideshow, but technical difficulties are not allowing that.  I have made a list of players taken by the Raiders in the second round of the draft that have been contributors.  They are in no particular order, but here they are:

Howie Long: I will start with one of my favorites of all time and that is DE Howie Long.  Long is a member of the NFL Hall of Fame and was a member of the Super Bowl XVIII squad.  He was drafted in the second round of the 1981 draft.  He is second on the Raiders "official" all-time sack leaders behind long time teammate Greg Townsend (the sack wasn't an official stat until 1982) with 84, and appeared in eight Pro Bowls. 

Dave Casper: "Ghost to the Post" was a play named after him where he ran a post route.  It became famous in a game against the Baltimore Colts in the AFC Divisional round of the playoffs.  Casper was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2002.  He was a second round pick in 1974 and played with us until 1980, then returned for a season in 1984. As a Raider, he had 255 catches for 3294 yards and 53 TDs.  Casper is a four-time Pro Bowler. 

Fred Bilitnekoff: Fred Bilitnekoff is second on the Raiders all-time receiving list, behind only Tim Brown.  He was drafted in the second round of the 1965 draft. He is a six-time Pro Bowler and had 589 catches for 8974 yards and 76 TDs.  He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1988 and was Super Bowl XI MVP.

Kenny Stabler:  Now here's the man that was throwing to the previous two Hall of Famers, Kenny Stabler.  Stabler is the Raiders all-time leading passer with 19078 yards, a 59% completion percentage, and 150 TDs.  His name often comes up as a player that deserves the Hall of Fame when two of his favorite targets are in there as well as two of his best blockers.  He is a four-time Pro Bowler and led the Raiders to a Super Bowl XI victory.  Stabler was drafted in 1968, but eventually beat out fellow rookie QB Eldrige Dickey (who was actually drafted ahead of him in round 1) for the starting job.

Matt Millen: Millen is best known for his horrible job as GM for the Detroit Lions recently, but I remember him best as a solid MLB for the Raiders.  Drafted in round 2 of the 1980 draft, he was a member of both Super Bowl XV and XVIII teams and made the Pro Bowl in 1988. He has 11 official career sacks.  

Dan Conners:  Another solid man in the middle from the old days.  Dan Conners was actually drafted an OT in round 2 of the 1964 draft, then converted into an outstanding MLB.  He had 15 career INTs with three returned for TDs.  Sacks were not official in his days.  He was a three-time Pro Bowler.   

Mike Davis: Here's a DB we don't talk about much, even though he was a member of both Super Bowl XV and XVIII squads.  He is SS Mike Davis.  He was the fourth man in a secondary that featured NFL Hall of Famer Mike Haynes, legendary Raider Lester Hayes, and another overlooked Raider, Van McElroy.  Drafted in round 2 of the 1978 draft, he never made the Pro Bowl, but his two Super Bowl rings along with his 11 career sacks and 11 career INTs can't be ignored.

George Buehler, Phil Villapiano, John Vella, Monte Johnson: I decided to group the rest of the Super Bowl XI squad into one since there's not much info on them.  George Buehler and John Vella started on the right side of the offensive line at guard and tackle, and neither would ever make the Pro Bowl.  They were often overshadowed by the future Hall of Famers on the left side of the line. 

Monte Johnson and Phil Villapiano were key members of the defense.  Johnson was a solid hitter with 10 career INTs. Villapiano was one of the originators of the "Raider Show Biz" and a four-time Pro Bowler with 11 career INTs.

Dave Browning, Willie Jones:

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?