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2007 NFL Draft
Predictions2007 NFL Draft Predictions for
Oakland
With the 2007 NFL Draft just around the corner, the burning question is, who
should the Raiders select with the first pick in the draft? Every sports
analysts and their mothers say it’s going to be LSU’s JaMarcus Russell. I won’t
argue that. What I will argue is if he is the right fit for the Oakland Raiders.
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Although there are better players out there than quarterbacks in this year’s
draft, there is no question that the Raider’s desperately need a signal-caller.
Since Rich Gannon took the Raiders to the Super Bowl in the 2002-2003 season,
Oakland hasn’t had any kind of a threat dropping back in the pocket. Kerry
Collins, Aaron Brooks, and Andrew Walters, who have most recently been Oakland’s
starters, just aren’t the caliber of QBs with the ability to turn around a
wretched offense. Most scouts don’t feel that Russell or Notre Dame’s Brady
Quinn, this year’s top QB prospects are team-changing players either. So we have
to ask ourselves, if Oakland doesn’t feel that one of these two guys is their QB
of the future, should they take another year in the cellar and just get another
piece of the puzzle? Absolutely! Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech’s standout
receiver, is the most talented player in this draft. If Oakland passes him up,
they make the same mistake that Houston made last season by passing up Reggie
Bush. If you get a young guy like Johnson in their who wants to make his mark on
the league, quarterbacks are going to be more excited about coming to Oakland.
This could open the door for the Raiders to get a quality free agent or make a
trade for a guy with some experience. Another thing to keep in mind is that the
Raiders won’t be good in 2007 even if Russell does stands under center. This is
a team which still needs offensive line help and even a talented guy with
escapability is going to be among the league leaders in sacked QBs.
Highlighting the fact that this offensive line needs help shows us another way
the Raiders could go that might even be better than taking a quarterback.
Wisconsin’s big offensive tackle Joe Thomas could team with Robert Gallery to
make the best tackle tandem in the league. If Oakland goes this route, they
could focus on running the football and controlling the game-winning the way the
Ravens do until they can get the right guy under center. Running backs LaMont
Jordan, Justin Fargas, and newly acquired Domonic Rhodes would be happy to here
news of a new tackle in town.
Teams that have been too desperate for quarterbacks have made bad decisions
which have resulted in wasted draft picks such as the Chargers with Ryan Leaf
and the Browns with Tim Couch. These are the stories that make you leery of
going with a QB number one if you aren’t exactly positive in that player’s
ability. Both of the Chargers and the Browns, I’m sure would tell you, that they
were confident in both Leaf and Couch. So maybe it’s all just a crap-shoot, but
I don’t feel Russell or Quinn are good fits in Oakland. I would anticipate a
David Carr-like scenario with either of these guys running for their lives the
way Carr does down in Texas. History has shown us that it’s better to bring
young quarterbacks into a team with pieces around them like you saw with Matt
Leinart last season in Arizona and like we’ve seen with Eli Manning in New York.
It looks like Oakland will try to build around a quarterback. It doesn’t appear
to be the best possible move for this team to make, but that still remains to be
seen. I hope we’re not saying I told you so to the Raiders in 2007.
Updated April 18th, 2007
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