Damn near every mock draft I see out there says the same thing about Oakland's pick at 24; "No way Al Passes up on Mcfadden's talent".... blah blah blah. In the interests of disclosure let me state that I can't stand the Raiduhs and have hated 'em for the entirety of my football life, so I barely care what they do with the draft. But this kind of herd mentality just bugs the hell out of me for some reason so I had to post a bit of a rant. There are a couple of reasons this isn't gonna happen.
First reason that Al & the boys won't take McFadden with the 4th pick? Everyone expects them to! Since when did OAK do what was expected of 'em in the draft. This is the team that used the 17th overall pick on a KICKER. Who saw THAT comin?!! Still cracks me up.
Second reason OAK won't take McFadden at #4? They don't pick RBs in the 1st round. OK, there were two in the entire 30-year history of Oakland's NFL draft history. In 1995 there was Napoleon Kaufman, one of the few Raiders I ever even slightly rooted for (UW Husky here). In 1982, there was this Marcus Allen guy. That worked out OK for 'em. Maybe... MAYBE McFadden is their once-per-decade RB selection, but I doubt it.
Third Reason? The Raiders love to draft defense in the 1st round and are likely to have a premier defensive lineman available to 'em. Looking at draft history, 12 of their past 20 1st round selections have been defense. Do you really think that if Chris Long is available at #4, they will pass on Howie's little boy? Nah... it'll be Long, Gholston or Dorsey in a Raiders uniform next season. Outside chance it's one of the tackles; Clady, Williams or Otah, but they'd probably want to trade down to make an OT pick. And McFadden? He'll probably be wearing Jets green.
"But then again, I COULD be wrong" - Dennis Miller
First of all, the first reason isn't really a valid reason. The second and third reasons are true, but what you have to look at here is what Al Davis would do. Al Davis has always become a man that drafts people who were great in the college level even though they ended up bad in the pro level. Therefore McFadden was a projected 1st pick early in the draft, and his talent is unbelievable. Im not saying that McFadden is a bust, but he was a star in college football, so that is why Al Davis would want to pick him. Also, you are right: they love drafting defensive players, mainly CB's, but in this draft, the CB's are not worth this pick this early. I know that Goldston and Long(if he is available) might be better fitting to the Raiders needs, but again, Al Davis will NOT let go of somebody this good. By the way, they will not draft a OT because that's why they signed Kwame Harris for.
Remember, this is Al Davis we are talking about. He loves GOOD college players
"It's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt" - Mark Twain.
Wiater, I'll take an order of crow, please. Alas, for once the herd was right. I stand corrected.
Final observation on this, though my credibility ain't exactly stellar at the moment... I can't shake the feeling that McFadden just got little closer to Bustville. Oakland is where RB carreers go to die.
SlobberKnockerz: Please take out your line "But then again, I COULD be wrong" because you used that line everytime and that make your opinion worthless. If you know that you could be wrong then don't say at all. Have a conviction in what you are saying.
Be a man and just admitt that you were wrong about Oakland Raiders. You were smart enough for came up with reasons why Raiders would not pick up McFadden.
How about this "But then again YOU could be wrong". Because you are. But at least you have faith in your own convictions, even if they are full o' crap. "Be a Man"? Piss off. I am man enough to have come back to this thread and say I was wrong. Most on this board would have just slunk off to the next thread and pretend it didn't happen.
Since you didn't get the joke, I'll explain. I was going off on a Dennis Miller-style rant, so I took the liberty of stealing one of his catch phrases. He starts his rants "Not to get off on a rant here, but..." and finishes them with "But then again I COULD be wrong". OK, so I should have punctuated with quote marks and attributed the quote. Guess that marked me down a half-grade.
