Oakland Raiders: Lucky Strikes in Late Rounds

(Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)

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 

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