Genius Or Senile: Drafting With The Oakland Raiders' Al Davis

Is Al Davis a Draft genius? Or has he lost touch with the process.

Drafting requires a delicate balance of obtaining players to fill a hole on the roster and taking the best player available. There is also the “potential” vs. “NFL ready” dilemma where players are sometimes drafted as “projects” with the belief that they will eventually be much better players than those taken after them.

Whether players are NFL ready or project players; there is always a general rule that you can only judge a player after at least 3 years in the NFL.

However this is rarely the case due to the media eagerly wanting to put the “Bust” label on a player and fans wanting to point fingers for the failure of their team – especially when 1^st round players are earning such large sums of money and have such high expectations.

So with this in mind here are the Oakland Raiders (or Al Davis’s) picks for the last 3 years when they began their rebuilding programme.

1 Darrius Heyward-Bey – WR- Darrius was an Al Davis height, weight, speed pick. In a terrible offense Darrius didn’t produce in his rookie season but did have some injury problems in pre-season and during the season.

2 Michael Mitchell – S- Taken earlier than analysts had predicted, due to the Bears trying to take him after the Raiders in 2^nd, Mitchell was the big shock of the draft. However Mel Kiper later admitted: “One team told me they had Michael Mitchell in the third round. They had him as a Pro Bowler. They think it's a great pick by the Oakland Raiders.” Mitchell also had an injury plagued rookie year but did show glimpses of hard-hitting promise.

3 Matt Shaughnessy – DE – Shaughnessy’s improving play was probably the factor that led to Ellis being released by the team. He proved himself capable of playing DE in this league when given an opportunity by getting 29 tackles and 4 sacks in the season.

4 Louis Murphy – WR- Murphy was the most successful Rookie of the Raiders’ 2009 season and outshone Heyward-Bey as a starter. He wasn’t perfect but had a very good season for a starting rookie.

4 Slade Norris – LB- Norris has hardly featured for the Raiders but if Morrison is released he may be in the mix a bit more.

6 Stryker Sulak – LB – Sulak was released before the season started.

6 Brandon Myers – TE – Brought in as a blocking TE Myers has done his job and caught several passes in the season as well.

1 Darren Mcfadden – RB – This was widely believed to be a wise pick for the Raiders because of McFadden’s speed and exceptional catching ability. McFadden has proved that when he can stay healthy and he gets help from the O-Line that he can play.

4 Tyvon Branch – S – Tyvon was originally a CB at College and was a project for the Raiders to turn into a Safety. However he is now pencilled in as a starter at Safety .

4 Arman Shields – WR – Arman was let go after spending a year on IR.

6 Trevor Scott – DE/LB – Scott has been an excellent pass rusher gaining numerous sacks in both his rookie season as well as last season.

7 Chaz Schilens – WR – With a 40 yard dash time of 4.33s, weighing 225lb, getting a 43 inch vertical and standing at 6ft4in - Schilens was the ultimate Al Davis height, weight, speed pick. Having moved up the depth chart in his rookie season Chaz eventually became a starter. After the departure of Javon Walker Chaz is the Raiders’ no.1 receiver.

1 JaMarcus Russell – QB - At the time this was seen as the no-brainer pick for the guy who had all the potential to be a great QB. After 2 seasons as a starter he still has all the potential to be great.

2 Zach Miller – TE – Zach has been the best and most consistent player on offense for the Raiders for the past 3 years. Future Prow Bowler if the offense can improve.

3 Quentin Moses – DE – Waived by the Raiders before the season started and is now with the Dolphins.

3 Mario Henderson – OT – Many people envision him as the Raiders LT/RT for the future. However, everyone can agree that he is worthy of being in the mix.

3 Johnnie Lee Higgins – WR/PR – JLH had a breakout season in his second year but saw limited action in 2009.

4 Michael Bush – RB – He was seen as a potential 1^st round pick before breaking his leg in college and was the Raiders leading rusher in 2009.

4 John Bowie – CB – The guy we got for Randy Moss... who never did anything for us and is now with the Cleveland Browns.

5 Jay Richardson – DE – He is a bigger DE and has proved his worth as a good rotational player on the D-line.

5 Eric Frampton – S – He was cut by the Raiders before the season started and is now with the Vikings and has still done nothing.

6 Oren O'Neal – FB – After recovering from an almost career threatening injury at the beginning of 2008 has shown that he is a sure lead blocker but that is about it.

7 Johnathon Holland – WR/CB – Holland has done a bit of everything really and is basically a kick returner and a back-up at WR and CB.

So there is everyone that the Raiders have drafted in the last 3 years; the good, the bad and the ugly.

I’ve got to admit that I felt like Al Davis was senile and had no idea what he was doing on draft day anymore. This was what the media want me to believe but after looking at it we have made good use out of all 3 drafts with the exception of a few players.

Do JaMarcus, McFadden and DHB just need time and a good O-line to reach their potential?

Would later-round starters for the Raiders be career back-ups on other teams or are they draft gems found in later rounds?

Should the Raiders be drafting more NFL-ready players and less project players?

Is Al Davis a drafting genius with a plan or is he just going with the flow and taking the players he likes each year?

To be Noted:

*The Raiders have not drafted 1 DT in the last 3 years.

*They have only selected 1 Offensive Lineman in the last 3 years (Mario Henderson).

*They have selected 2 WRs each year.

*They have drafted at least 1 DE each year.

*1 drafted player has been waived before the season has started in each of the past 3 drafts.