NFL Draft: Players Who Could've Been Oakland Raiders First Round Picks

Would All Pro CB Nnamdi Asomugha been a Raider if the 2000-2009 draft been up to me?
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The whole 2000-2009 decade of Oakland Raider first round picks really seems to be one of the worst in their history. I can't help but wonder what our team would be like had we drafted differently.  Some players may still very well have been Oakland Raiders and others may not have been. 

Let's find out how it could've gone down.

PK Sebastian Janikowski over RB Shaun Alexander

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Shaun Alexander carried the ball 2,187 times for 9,453 yards and 100 touchdowns. Alexander made three Pro Bowls and made first team All-Pro in 2005. We were hurting at running back at the time, as Napolean Kaufman was battling injuries that led to his early retirement. Shaun Alexander would've been great for us for the next several years.

We selected a place kicker in round one. Granted, years ago, we selected Ray Guy in round one, but Janikowski would've been available in round four in place of DL Junior Ioane, who played a very limited role. To his credit, Janikowski is the Raiders' all-time leading scorer and has some of the longest field goals in Raider history and recently tied the NFL record.

SS Derrick Gibson over QB Drew Brees

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Drew Brees is a five-time Pro Bowler and made first team All Pro in 2006. He has 36,325 passing yards and 244 TDs. Plus, he's completed 65 percent of his attempts. Jon Gruden wanted TE Todd Heap, but I think Brees would've been a great canidate to groom under Rich Gannon. I'm sure Derrick Gibson would've been available for us in round two if Al Davis really wanted him. 

Derrick Gibson only had 194 tackles, three interceptions, two sacks and one forced fumble in six years with the Raiders.  He was constantly benched in favor of Anthony Dorsett for missing tackles and blowing his coverage assignments. 

LB Napolean Harris over SS Ed Reed

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Ed Reed is a seven time Pro Bowler and five-time first team All Pro. He has 56 career INTs and 427 career tackles. This guy was definatly worth waiting for. I really didn't see LB as a need this year.

We actually had two first round picks in CB Phillip Buchannon and LB Napolean Harris. Buchannon was an explosive playmaker as a CB and as a returner, so he was a good choice. Greg Biekert still had a few years left in him, and I think would've been worth hanging onto for another year or two. 

Biekert was cut after training camp this year. Harris was traded a few years later because he was never really agressive towards the run and lost his job to free agent aquisition Danny Clark. 

DE Tyler Brayton over DE Osi Umenyiora; DB Nnamdi Asomugha over LB EJ Henderson

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Osi Umenyiora is a two time Pro Bowler and made first team All-Pro in 2005. He has 60 sacks, 28 forced fumbles and 219 career tackles. We really needed help at DE this year, and the man I really wanted, Ty Warren from Texas A&M, was taken early by New England left the pickings few.  Umenyiora was clearly the better choice over Brayton. The only thing Tyler Brayton ever headlined for was getting ejected for giving Jerramy Stevens a knee to the groin. 

Nnamdi Asomugha is hard to argue with since he's a three-time Pro Bowler and a two-time first team All-Pro, but he didn't emerge until his fourth season after both Charles Woodson and Phillip Buchannon had left. Lots of veteran players were nearing the end of their careers, and replacements were needed sooner than later. Corner shouldn't have been a need at this time despite the fact that both Woodson and Buchannon were battling injuries all the previous year. 

As mentioned earlier, there was LB Greg Biekert and later discovered FS Rod Woodson. EJ Henderson eventually replaced Biekert in Minnesota and is a one-time Pro Bowler.  Another choice would've been FS Eugene Wilson, who never made a Pro Bowl, but was still a solid player.

OL Robert Gallery over WR Larry Fitzgerald

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This is where it gets difficult because we had so many needs it wasn't funny this year.  OT Lincoln Kennedy had just retired, C Barrett Robbins, DL Trace Armstrong, LB Bill Romanowski and FS Rod Woodson were all forced to retire because they failed physicals. Then there were WRs Jerry Rice and Tim Brown, who were two of the greatest to ever play the game that knew their times were coming soon. Brown was released, and Rice was traded after the season started. 

To me, our biggest need was a spectacular offensive playmaker, and Larry Fitzgerald was exactly that. ANY time you need major upgrades on offensive skill positions and you have the No. 2 overall pick, YOU DON'T PASS ON A PLAYER LIKE THIS. He's a five-time Pro Bowler and one-time first team All Pro. 

I did like Gallery, but we could've picked up a lineman late in the draft. 

Trading No. 7 Overall for Randy Moss, Fabian Washington over OL Logan Mankins

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In 2005, we made a lot of mistakes. We had lots of problems. We needed help on both sides of the ball. The biggest issue was stopping the run on defense. Some of the other problems might not have been had we drafted differently. 

Like for instance, had we drafted Larry Fitzgerald the previous year, we might not have traded for Randy Moss.  Had we held onto No. 7 overall, we could've added one of two stout OLBs that were future Pro Bowlers. Their names are Demarcus Ware and Shawn Merriman. 

Then again, if you think about it, Drew Brees throwing to Fitzgerald and Moss may not be so bad. but since we traded TE Doug Jolley for a late first rounder, a better pick would've been Guard Logan Mankins. Plus, we'd have Shaun Alexander in the backfield, so passing on Frank Gore at this point isn't so bad since this would be Alexander's All Pro year. Fabian Washington would've still been there waiting in round two, and I'm sure Stanford Routt would've fallen to round three.

DB Michael Huff over OL Marcus McNeill

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Marcus McNeill was an instant Pro Bowler his first two years. If we were still having OL issues by now, then this guy would've been the ideal pick, and to think we passed on him twice, as he was a late second round pick by the Chargers.

It took Michael Huff forever to have a good season. On a normal team, he would've been gone after three years.

QB Jamarcus Russell over Lots of Better Choices

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Jamarcus Russell is by far the biggest bust in NFL history. Granted he had better stats than Ryan Leaf, but he got a lot more money too. We could've had WR Calvin Johnson, DB Darrell Revis, OL Joe Thomas, LB Patrick Willis and RB Adrian Peterson.  Peterson is arguably the best RB in the NFL today, and by now, Shaun Alexander was starting to slow down. Calvin Johnson is starting to come around now that Detroit has a decent QB. Willis made an imediate impact in Frisco, but we have our man in EJ Henderson. 

That leave Revis and Thomas. Thomas is a four-time Pro Bowler and two time first team All-Pro.  Revis is a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time first team All-Pro. I think by now, our OL is getting shakey, so Thomas is my choice over Russell. We drafted Michael Bush in round four this year, so I don't feel bad about passing on Peterson. 

Darren McFadden...The Right Choice

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Here, we realize that Shaun Alexander is slowing down, and since Michael Bush missed his rookie year rehabilitating his NCAA leg injury, we go for Darren McFadden, after all the issues we've been facing that could've been prevented. 

Here is a new star ready to pick up where one left off. He struggled with injuries early in his career, but he broke out well in year three, which was last year, and three weeks into this season, he leads the NFL in rushing. So I actually agree with a pick while we are struggling.

Note: Not long after I wrote this, McFadden had a season ending injury, so now I have second thoughts now.  If I were to have drafted somebody else, It would be betweem either DTs Sedrick Ellis or Glen Dorsey or CBs Dominique Rodgers-Comartie, Leodis McKelvin, Aqib Talib or Antoine Cason.

WR Darrius Heyward-Bey over Alot of Better Choices

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Here is another tough choice. We have Larry Fitzgerald, so we're not looking for a WR. We have Ed Reed, so we're probably not looking to take Mike Mitchell either. We have Demarcus Ware on defense. We have a solid pair of tackles in Marcus McNeill and Joe Thomas. Drew Brees is our quarterback. The DL has Osi Umenyiora and Tommy Kelly and is about to get Richard Seymour and Matt Shaughnessey.  At LB we have Ware and EJ Henderson and could use another OLB, but Tom Howard is still good enough. 

The secondary looks like Charles Woodson is still here, along with Ed Reed, Tyvon Branch and Washington and Routt rotate at corner. I'd say despite the great players we passed on like Brian Cushing, Clay Matthews, Michael Oher, Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin, I think I would go with 2010 Pro Bowl Center Alex Mack. 

Conclusion

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Issues that have been killing us the last 10 years could've easily been solved.

1. QB: draft Drew Brees in 2001

2. RB: draft Shaun Alexander in 2000 to later be surplanted by Darren McFadden in 2008

3. OL Marcus McNeill and Joe Thomas in 2006 and 2007, plus Logan Mankins in 2005 if we still trade Doug Jolley for a first rounder and Alex Mack in 2009. 

4. WR: draft Larry Fitzgerald in 2004

5. Stopping the run: Draft Demarcus Ware in 2005 rather than trading for Randy Moss, Draft Osi Umenyiora and EJ Henderson in 2003, Draft Ed Reed in 2002,

 

2010 was our best all around draft for addressing team needs and when it was over, I actually said that I was happy with it, but I can't help but wonder if it would've turned out the same if we had gone other routes in the previous years.