What If The Oakland Raiders Drafted Adrian Peterson In 2007?

In 2007, the Oakland Raiders forever altered the history of the franchise. With the No. 1 pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, the Raiders selected LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell.

They passed on future Pro Bowlers Joe Thomas, Patrick Willis and, of course, Adrian Peterson.

The Raiders needed a quarterback, but they also needed a running back.  As we have seen the past three season, Peterson is a one-of-a-kind NFL talent.

By drafting Peterson, the Raiders could have salvaged their franchise for the present time and for years to come.  By drafting Russell, Oakland now has $30 million guaranteed to the quarterback.  With his stats and lack of progression, he is an untradable commodity.

If the Raiders decide to give up on Russell, they will either have to draft another quaterback to develop or convince a rare free agent talent to sign up.

Along with failing on drafting a Pro Bowl running back, the Raiders' 2007 pick led to another faulty pick in 2008.  With the No. 4 pick that season, Oakland selected Arkansas Running Back Darren McFadden, often compared to Peterson coming out of college.

McFadden has yet to show his true potential, but not entirely because of his own doing.  A mediocre offensive line combined with a lame duck passing attack has left little room for the back to run.

Russell's ability does not strike fear into defenses and allows them to focus on McFadden, who also shares a lot of time with Michael Bush and Justin Fargas.  The first part of his career is all but ruined in a Raider uniform.

By simply adding Peterson, the Raiders theoretically could have improved their draft position—for argument's sake, let's say early-teens.   Even if the Silver and Black stayed at No. 4 they would have been in a great position to trade down and draft Joe Flacco.

Flacco started and won as a rookie, and this year we've seen he can put some numbers.  In just two seasons, Flacco's stats and progression have surpassed that of Russell.  His intangibles alone are miles ahead.

This leads me to the 2009 draft, which the Raiders' selection with the No. 7 pick left many stunned.  Oakland selected Maryland wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, projected in the 20s.

Again, theoretically, the Raiders would have improved their draft position. The Broncos had a terrible run defense, and San Diego couldn't defend the pass.  Oakland could have challenged for the AFC West.

If that happened they could have taken Bey at a more sensible position, lets say mid-to-late-teens, early-20s.  That would have also put them in prime position to draft either Jeremy Maclin, Percy Harvin, Hakeem Nicks or Kenny Britt, all first round receivers finding success thus far.

If their position did not improve, Michael Crabtree was still available.

Either would have also left them in a position to fourth round pick Louis Murphy, who has had far better stats than Bey at this point in the season.

Instead the Raiders went with Russell.

And aside from a few plays here and there, he has been a Ryan Leaf-esque bust. His lack of production has hurt McFadden's career, and even if Bey was a Top 10 pick, does Russell have what it takes to get him the ball and show off his potential?

The answer we're getting to that question right now is "No."

The answer is wearing No. 28 in Minnesota.