The Oakland Raiders have had quite a few lucky strikes in the late rounds of the NFL draft.  I have gone through and selected a few of my favorites.  I'm sure several have been left out, but I chose my favorites.

 

Jim Otto

Otto was one of the original Raiders taken in 1960.  He was unofficially a 12-time Pro Bowler; I say unofficially because the Pro Bowl wasn't always the Pro Bowl in his time.

He was the most dominant to play his position and set the bar high for guys like Dave Dalby, Don Mosebar, and Barrett Robbins to reach for.

He was the first Raider inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame and it took place in 1980.

 

Art Shell

Shell was the first player that also served as a Head Coach.  He was drafted in round 3 of the 1968 draft. 

As a player, he was a member of the Super Bowl XI and Super Bowl XV championship squads and an eight-time Pro Bowler. 

His coaching started as the offensive line coach for the Raiders in 1983, so he was a member of the Super Bowl XVIII championship team as an assistant coach, rather than as a player. 

He became the head coach in 1989, four games into the season after Mike Shanahan was fired.  He was then fired himself at the end of the 1994 season after posting a 9-7 record and failing to defeat KC to make the playoffs.

After that he became the NFL's Vice President of football operations.  He stepped down from that and returned as head coach of the Raiders in 2006 after nobody else wanted the job, but it didn't go too well.  He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1989. 

 

Rod Martin 

My coverboy here, Rod Martin, was one of my favorites of all time.  He was drafted in the 12th round of the 1977 draft and was one of our best linebackers to play the game.

He has career totals of 14 interceptions (4 returned for touchdowns) and 33.5 official sacks. He also returned two fumbles for touchdowns and one of them is the third longest in Raider history.

He was a member of both Super Bowl XV and XVIII championship teams and was a two- time Pro Bowler. He holds the record for most interceptions in the Superbowl with three and he did that in Super Bowl XV.  He was always notorious for making big plays when we needed them most. 

 

Greg Townsend

Greg Townsend was drafted in the fourth round of the 1983 draft.  He was a rookie on the Super Bowl XVIII championship team.  He is the official all time Raider leader in career sacks with 107 and a two-time Pro Bowler. 

His 13 career forced fumbles are second on the all-time Raider leaderboard behind Charles Woodson.  He has also recovered three for touchdowns. 

 

Marv Hubbard 

Fullback Marv Hubbard was drafted in the 11th round of the 1968 draft.  He was a three-time Pro Bowler.  He is seventh on the Raiders all-time rushing leader board.

He played seven seasons with the Raiders and sat out of the 1976 season on injured reserve before going to Detroit in 1977.  He probably wishes he could've played for the Raiders in 1976 so he could have a Super Bowl ring to his name.

 

Cliff Branch

Branch was a fourth round pick in the 1972 draft.  He was a member of all three Super Bowl Championship teams.  In 1983, in a loss against the Washington Redskins, he caught a 99 yard touchdown pass which is the longest in Raider history.

The funny fact about that is that the Raiders would have a rematch that year in the Super Bowl against the Redskins and come out victorious. 

Branch is third on the Raiders all-time receiving leader board and I think deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.  He was one amazing receiver.

 

Dave Dalby 

Center Dave Dalby was another Raider who is a three-time Super Bowl Champion as a Raider.  He was a fourth-round pick in 1972 and made the Pro Bowl in 1977. 

He was often overshadowed by the Hall of Famers to his left in Art Shell and Gene Upshaw, but was a solid man in the middle.

In 1985, he was replaced by Don Mosebar as the starter.  He died in 2002 in an automobile accident.

 

Lester Hayes 

Mr. Hayes is another one of my favorites of all time.  Not only did he play for my favorite NFL team, but my favorite college as well (Texas A & M).  He was taken in the fifth round of the 1977 draft.  He was a member of both Super Bowl XV and Super Bowl XVIII championship squads. 

In the 1980 season, he set a team record for most interceptions in a season.  He is tied with NFL Hall of Famer Willie Brown for the Raider career leader in interceptions.  He is a 5 time Pro Bowler and I think he deserves the Hall of Fame.

 

Shane Lechler 

Lechler is another who played for both my favorite college and NFL team.  He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2000 NFL draft. 

He is a four-time Pro Bowler and his 46.8 career average is not only the best as a Raider, but the best career average ever in the NFL.  If Ray Guy never makes it to the Hall of Fame, Shane Lechler better make it.

 

La'Roi Glover 

La'Roi Glover is a different story from the rest of these guys.  He was a 5th round pick in 1996 by the Raiders, but was cut 2 games into the season.  He went on to become a 6 time Pro Bowler; 2 with New Orleans and 4 with Dallas. 

He has 83 career sacks. He would've really come in handy for us after Chester McGlockton messed up his back and we let him go via free agency and Darrell Russell got in trouble with drugs. 

Glover is a player who found success after it didn't go well for him as a Raider. 

George Atkinson, Pete Banaszak, Clarence Davis, Skip Thomas, Mark Van Eeghen

These guys were all members of the Super Bowl XI squad.  George "The Animal" Atkinson was drafted in the 7th round of the 1968 draft.  He made the Pro Bowl his first 2 years as a returner. 

In his second season he became the starting strong safety.  He is 6th all time on the Raider career interception leaderboard and 4th all time on career punt return yardage.

"The Rooster" Pete Banaszak was drafted in the 5th round of the 1966 AFL draft.   He is second on the Raider career rushing touchdown leaderboard behind Hall of Famer Marcus Allen, but never made the Pro Bowl. 

Mark Van Eeghen was a third-round pick in the 1974 NFL draft.  He is second on the Raider career rushing yardage leader board behind Hall of Famer Marcus Allen. 

Clarence Davis was a fourth-round pick in the 1971 draft.  He was the third head in the "Three Headed Monster Rushing Attack" on this Superbowl squad (this is what Al Davis is wanting to get back to with Bush, McFadden, and Fargas).

Then theres "Dr. Death" Alonzo "Skip" Thomas, who was a seventh round pick in the 1972 NFL Draft.  He was often overshadowed by Hall of Famer Willie Brown playing opposite of him as well as the safeties George Atkinson and Jack Tatum, but he was a fierce hitter in the secondary. 

 

Mickey Marvin, Reggie Kinlaw, Vann McElroy 

These guys were members of other Super Bowl squads.  Mickey Marvin was a fourth-round pick in the 1977 NFL Draft.  He started on both Super Bowl XV and XVIII squads at right guard, but never made the Pro Bowl. 

"The Killer" Reggie Kinlaw was a 12th round pick in the 1979 NFL Draft and started at NT for both Superbowl XV and XVIII squads, but never made the Pro Bowl. 

Vann McElroy was the last safety drafted by the Raiders that panned out well.  He was taken in the 3rd round of the 1982 NFL Draft.

He started as free safety on the Super Bowl XVIII squad and is fourth on the Raider career interception leader board with 31. He is a two-time Pro Bowler.

 

Bo Jackson, Mervyn Fernandez 

These guys were a couple of late round steals in 1987.  Fernandez is not on the top 10 on the Raider career receiving leader board, nor did he ever make the Pro Bowl, but he was a spectacular deep threat play maker.  If you ever saw him play, you will know why he is on this list. 

Bo Jackson is best remembered as the player that could've been.  The question that pops into everybody's mind whenever his name is brought up is "What if?"

Bo Jackson was actually a No. 1 overall pick by Tampa Bay in 1986 but never reached a deal and opted to play baseball instead. 

In 1987, Al Davis selected him in the seventh round and made him a deal to play football as an offseason baseball activity, meaning that he would only play when baseball season was over and was still paid about average for a starting running back during that time.

He was the first professional athlete to be an All-Star in two different major league sports.  He was still able to put up spectacular numbers for a guy that was only playing part time and performed three of the Raiders longest rushing plays in team history.

On Jan. 13, 1991, his football career tragically ended with a hip injury in the divisional round of the playoffs.

 

Raghib Ismail, Greg Biekert, Grady Jackson, Jon Ritchie, Barry Sims 

Here is a bunch of players that never made the Pro Bowl, but were also fan favorites.  Raghib "Rocket" Ismail was probably one of the fastest players we ever had. 

Like Fernandez before him, he's not a top 10 all time Raider receiver, but if you ever saw him play, you'd see why he made the list.  He was drafted in the fourth round of the 1991 draft.

He finally became active as a kick off returner in 1993, and is fourth all-time on the kick off return yardage leaderboard.  In 1995 he became a full time receiver, but was cut at the end of training camp in 1996 in favor of James Jett for not being able to read the ball well. 

Greg Biekert was the most deserving of this bunch that should've earned at least one Pro Bowl honor.  He was a seventh round steal in the 1993 NFL draft and is second on the "official" Raider career tackle leader board.  

Tackles were not official until 2001, but were consistantly recorded from 1994-2000; prior to 1994 they were inconsistantly recorded. He was from an era of great middle linebackers, so that was part of the reason why he was rudely overlooked so much.

However, he was a nasty son of a gun to meet at the line of scrimage on goalline plays and was notorious for destroying running offenses.  Of all respect to Kirk Morrison, Biekert's defensive services are still missed to this day.

Grady Jackson was sixth-round selection for the Raiders in the 1997 draft.  He became a starter the next year along side fellow 1997 draftee Darrell Russell, who was a two-time Pro Bowler. 

He became the beef of the defensive line when Darrell Russell got suspended for substance abuse in 2001.  He walked via free agency after that and that was a mistake that would haunt the Raiders two years later. 

Jon Ritchie was a third round pick in the 1998 NFL draft and wasn't a statistical leader, but was one hell of a blocker for the statistical leaders. 

He was best known for his bloody forehead on the sidelines as his Raider Image trademark.  He was a fan favorite as a bruiser on the field. 

Barry Sims was an undrafted rookie in 1999.  Through his hard work and dedication, he beat out former first round draft picks Mo Collins and Matt Stinchcomb for the starting left tackle posisiton.

He never made the Pro Bowl, but he protected Rich Gannon's blind side very well and won the commitment to excellence award several times as a Raider.

He protrayed a dirty Raider Image on the field in his style of play as well as a good locker room leader by example.  Like all players, he eventually started losing it and was released at the end of the 2007-08 season and thanked the Raider organization and fans for all of his fond memories as a Raider. 

 

Eric Barton, Rod Coleman

These guys were the bash brothers taken in the 5th round of the 1999 NFL draft.  You heard former Pro Bowler names like Bill Romanowski, Rod Woodson, Charles Woodson, Eric Allen, and Trace Armstrong around them, but these guys were on top of the leader boards in respective areas. 

Coleman was consistantly a sack leader for the Raiders and Barton was consitantly the tackle leader in his years as a starter for the Raiders. 

In 2004, they were both unrestricted free agents and left.  Barton never saw the Pro Bowl, but Coleman became a two-time Pro Bowler with Atlanta.

 

Ronald Curry, Justin Fargas, Kirk Morrison, Tommy Kelly 

These guys are some post-Super Bowl XXXVII draftees that have been critical for the Raiders. 

Ronald Curry was a QB that converted to receiver and made some good catches after being selected in the seventh round of the 2002 draft; he spent that year on the practice squad before getting called up for one game.

He was our leading receiver in 2006 and 2007, but later became notorious for not catching critical passes that he once was our most reliable target for.

Justin Fargas was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2003 draft.  After fighting injuries in early seasons, he finally became the starter in 2007 and rushed for over 1,000 yards and was injured on the play where he earned his 1,000th yard and went to IR. 

He's always been a work horse and with Michael Bush and Darren McFadden on the rise, his role may be deminishing but he is always determined to get the job done. 

Kirk Morrison was a third-round pick in the 2005 draft.  He is without question one of the leaders of the defense.  He's led the team in tackles every year he's played for them and is always in practice and all OTA work outs. 

He doesn't care about making the Pro Bowl as much as he cares about becoming a winning team because he has a team-first attitude. 

Tommy Kelly burst onto the scene in 2004 as an undrafted rookie free agent and lead the team in sacks that year with four.  He's matched that total on average every year when he plays the whole season. 

Last year, he looked like he was still slow from his 2007 injury and the team hopes he will be back at full strength for the 2009 season and earn his record-setting deal. 

 

Michael Bush, Mario Henderson, Johnnie Lee Higgins 

These guys are late picks from the 2007 draft that came on strong in 2008.  Michael Bush missed 2007 as he still rehabilitated his broken leg from his senior year of college. 

He would've been an early first round pick if it wasn't for that, so he was available to the Raiders in the fourth round. 

He played his best game on my 27th birthday during the last game of the season rushing for 177 yards and two touchdowns leading us to victory over Tampa Bay.  He will definitely have an increased role next season. 

Thrid rounder Mario Henderson became the starting left tackle after Kwame Harris led the NFL in sacks allowed and penalties.  Henderson started three games at left tackle and didn't allow any sacks nor was he ever penalized. Coach Tom Cable was confident enough in him that he didn't draft an OT this year. 

Another third rounder, Johnnie Lee Higgins, came on strong last year as a punt returner and a wide receiver.  He returned 3 punts for touchdowns last season and 2 of them were in the top 5 for longest punt returns in Raider history. 

Cable would like for him to focus on his punt return game and be available if needed as a wideout. 

 

Trevor Scott, Chaz Schilens, Tyvonn Branch 

Trevor Scott was a sixth-round selection in the 2008 draft.  He went on to tie the Raider and NFL rookie lead in sacks for the season.  Seventh-rounder Chaz Schilens never dropped a pass thrown his way. 

He was overthrown a few times, but he never dropped a pass.  He was the most polished receiver in OTAs and looks to be a starter this coming season.

I remember in the last two games of the season, Jamarcus Russell throwing to him and neither Tom Flores or Greg Papa could believe that he made the catch because they were so used to calling incomplete passes for the Raiders. 

Tyvonn Branch was taken in the fourth round of the 2008 draft.  He recorded his first career interception in a week 2 victory over Kansas City. 

He went to injured reserve about halfway through the season, but he has shown more promise in his short time than Derrick Gibson or Michael Huff ever did. 

You can build a winning team through the draft.  This is why I stand by my theory of "A Rookie is a Rookie, no matter what round he was drafted in, if he was drafted at all."  If a player fits in with a team well, he will succeed.