Most Likely To Make The Raiders Look Good: When the Raiders took Mitchell in the middle of Round 2, the TV guys didn’t even have a highlight ready to go. It might be because Kiper had him rated as a sixth-rounder, at best, but more likely an undrafted free agent. “I’ll say this: Oakland took Michael Mitchell, OK?” Kiper said. “I asked teams after the draft. The misnomer is it’s all Mel Kiper’s opinion, it’s all Todd McShay. You have to ask other teams. We’re not the end-all, be-all. Some said they had him as a free agent. 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. So Oakland wasn’t the only team out on the island that saw something in that kid.”

Seems like a little back tracking after calling him such a huge reach on the air

mostly because of our first pick. Remember these are the grades based on what value we could have gotten when it was our pick. The grades would change 5 years from now based on NFL performance.

So based on value, our #7 pick was terrible. It sounds like we wanted DHB no matter what. It sounds like we tried several avenues to trade down but none worked out. So since we are so stubborn, we picked a guy we could have gotten later on. Now we have to pay him #7 type money and he scored only 5 tds last year.

I wont even touch about how unproductive he was in college.

I am not sure about mitchell. When I heard that we reached again, I literally put holes in the wall. After seeing his highlights, I have lightened up a little. I like the on the field attitude this guy brings. “you come into my house, you get hit hard!” That sounds like old raider football. I just hope this guy is as good in the NFL as his film and wont get hurt or too many flags.

Murphy in the fourth round was fine, but seriously, how much impact is this guy going to be. His college stats in a spread offense is nothing to jump around about. He might just be the best technical receiver we have.

the rest of the picks, Ill be honest, i dont know much about. We did fill needs but I dont know how many will make our team. It seems quite a few players from this draft were reaches.

This draft seemed to be an Al Davis ego draft. He picked the players he wanted and didnt care how we got them. Just get them, Baby! Get ready for early draft picks for the next few years.

LOL Buddy

Hey you going to Freddie’s bachelor party this weekend? We can discuss it over BL’s while lookin at ….

I am buried at work, ORCL’s year end but wife is letting me run free Sat.

DHB will draw double-coverage freeing up other opportunities as he screams down the field and he played his college career double-teamed. Mitchell will once again put the fear in receivers over the middle, runningbacks in the flat and quarterbacks on the run.

The top two receivers had unknowns and DHB is a known quantity, perfectly suited for Raider style coaching/receiving Russell’s bombs.

Michael Mitchell will become the new Ronnie Lott which immediately upgrades our defense front, allowing them to concentrate on sacks every play.

The other draftees have their opportunity to win a job which inspires the players in competition.

In view of the draft choices verses needs, I grade this draft an ’ A ’ since we did not have to give away the farm in next years draft to meet our current targets.

downside is that Al’s ruining what was once a great rivalry (not that I don’t mind kicking your A$$ all over the place). A few more of these drafts and I’m going to start feeling bad for you guys (but not yet).

something that no one is mentioning is the fact that DHB is going to get the chance to compete every single day against the best corner in the league.

the way Asomugha explains that competing against Randy Moss day in and day out made him the player that he is. DHB is going to have that to experience to make him the top WR in the league….Cable knows what hes doing in building this team

The two biggest Raider needs were (1) stopping the run and (2) stopping other teams from tailoring their defense to stopping the Raider’s offensive strength: their run.

Part of the former problem was that we didn’t have safties who could tackle. Michael Mitchell is both fast and can tackle.

To stop our run, teams would put most of their defenders near the line of scrimmage. This can be stopped by having a speedy receiver who can get off the line of scrimmage and quickly get down field, drawing defenders down field. DHB with his size and speed is perfect for this duty.

I think Mitchell and DHB fit the Raiders’ needs well. A slower receiver like Crabtree would not have helped our running attack as much as DHB.

I agree with the Saint on this one. All these highly paid player guru’s by the end of the season should be eatting mudd or down on their knee’s paying homage to the mighty Raiders and our draft picks. But, I bet no matter how succesful our picks our “These Raider Hater’s” will still condem our picks. So let them hate Rock on Raiders.

Guys I’m new to the forum so take it easy on me.

After digesting everything about the Raider draft, notably on Day 1 there is nothing that surprises me. About two months ago when everyone was saying Maclin over Crabtree because he’s faster I immediately replied “well, if they want speed they’ll just take DHB”. Obviously it worked out that way.

Crabtree brought I think 427 people on stage when he was drafted. Anyone turned off? He brought an entourage to Cleveland, who was reportedly not impressed. I have always stuck up for this guy as an impact collegiate receiver (ie saying in 2007 he should have been a Heisman candidate despite being a frosh then) but this is the NFL.

Perhaps everyone is mesmerized by Crabtree catching the game winner against UT, as some were by Nicks’ bowl game performance. Regarding Nicks, it seems to have overshadowed him showing up to his pro day overweight – a huge red flag. A LOT goes into this stuff guys. We’re not in the interview rooms, on the field at pro days, chatting with general managers… this is not information we have.

All of that being said I wanted Monroe at #7. He is a high character guy and settles down the LT spot which has been a revolving door. I am optimistic Michalczik (sp?) can coach up the handful of guys added to this OL this offseason, but as we all heard Cable called the top 4 guys “Cadillacs”. I feel like the OL is now simply solid whereas dominance is needed.

Quick hit on Mitchell because this post is too long already. I want to believe he can be more than just another reach, but it’s hard to figure out why he wasn’t on the all-MAC whatever team. Peter King (who I despise) pointed out he wasn’t even 3rd team? Is that right? Maybe his potential will be realized and we can get another ET, Woodson, whatever you want to say … any impact at safety is what I’m getting at, not strict comparisons. It has been too long. 1 1/2 years of Rod and tell me another great safety since getting back to Oakland?

There is a huge difference between the GOAT and a guy who is more likely to be compared to a goat than the best ever to walk on an NFL field. I mean seriously, don’t even breathe Rice’s name. This Crabtree kid hasn’t put on an NFL uniform unless you count the ones on the stage or press conferences.

I get the “gotta have attitude” aspect as a defense, but I don’t agree with it being a necessity. Remind me the last time Harrison spoke up about anything? The answer is never. If you’re looking for an NFL comparison I would say Harrison is closer because Crabtree isn’t going to run by anyone, or split the defense after the catch.

Crabtree’s niche should be catching anything thrown in his direction, high, low or outside – and shutting up about it. He’s never going to dominate NFL defenses the way he did college defenders who are lining up with the rest of us stiffs looking for work. So this whole “Look at me! I can’t be stopped!” attitude is not going to fly at the NFL level.

Week #1 over the middle when he gets leveled by Karlos Dansby I wonder if his entourage from the Cleveland visit or draft stage will be there to tell him how great he is. Probably not. Then again, when DHB quietly makes his 30-40 catches for 500-550 yards and 7 TD no one will be saying this time next year the Raiders made the right move, but for THEIR system (and locker room) they did. I like how DHB handles interviews 10x better than Crabtree.

i agree with the small minority in here that we should have gotten more value for our 7th pick. either trade down or draft BPA. then trade up into the late 1st to try and get DHB. i don’t follow the draft close enough to really have an opinion of who might become a better receiver, but like some of you guys have said, its going to matter what kind of system these players get drafted into. you can have the best player but if you don’t use him the right way then he becomes a waste. i loved how crabtree played in college but now the NFL is different game and level. we’ll see how he adapts and how the 49ers use him. i hope DHB ends up being a good productive if not great WR. i know since the losing to the Bucs at the superbowl we have all been suffering as fans.

i really don’t think its the drafts that really hurt us. we have some very good young talent on this team from the last 5 drafts. i think its about putting it together, but i have no confidence with the ownership, front office, and coaching staff. i think thats been our biggest problem. i hope Cable turns it around but i really don’t have too much confidence in him.

this offense is only going to work if we have a good OL, do we? if we do then it comes down to the QB. i really don’t think JR is going to be a very good NFL QB. i hope i’m wrong.

Al Davis is still smarter than most of us! I get the feeling that everyone will soon realize just how sharp this guy is. It looks like Al and his crew really did their homework this time. I might be a little crazy, but it’s more fun this way. I get the distinct feeling that the Raiders are going to come out real strong this year and make all those a-holes at ESPN look like the dummies they really are.

GRADE: A++

Wow… gl12ox05 is all over the map! If you think draft analysts know what NFL scouts know, then you’re either really young or just a bit naive. If you give the Raiders a grade based on the “expert” analysts’ mock draft, I agree they get an “F.” But take a look at some other mock drafts… some had the Raiders picking DHB at #7. How can that be?

Well, they considered his YPC and the offensive scheme he was playing in. Kiper Jr’s system is simply best player available. He had Crabtree over DHB because of stats. There are obviously MANY other variable that should be considered.

By the way, how hard is it to base your mock draft on stats? Give me a couple of hours with an Excel spreadsheet… and… BAM!! I’d have a BPA list like Mr. Kiper. There’s more to it than than, gl12ox05. If you think Davis/Cable picked based on the 40 and vertical leap, than I feel sorry for your short-sightedness.

This is why people like you and others should not be blogging; your knowledge is beyond pathetic.

Weren’t you the same guy that loved Huff, Gallery, Gibson, Buchanon, Walker, Harris, Hall, Walker, and so many other picks and signings?

You are beyond biased; I watched Bey play in 4 games and he didn’t catch a pass in 2 of them.

Crabtree was the best WR in college; Bey was not even the best in his conference with only 13 TD’s in 3 years.

The bears draft worse than the Raiders (well almost) so who cares if they wanted him.

You are a part of the Raider cult not the Raider nation; you deal with what might be instead of what is; keep dreaming; your comments are laughable at best.

I cannot believe how many people are having these crazy conversations. What makes them crazy is neither of these guys have straped it on and proven their worth on an NFL field. I don’t care how great you were in college it does not translate to greatness in the NFL, PERIOD. Everyone has their opinion but the bottom line is this, we can agree or disagree with the choices. We DO NOT own the team or coach it. We DID NOT scout or interview any of the players. We do not pay their saleries. Al Davis has won three superbowls and built the Raiders into one of the most successful sports organizations in the sporting world. Tell me, if you had accomplished that with a business, you are going to keep on doing it your way. If you owned a business you may follow some of the industry standards but you are also going to do things your way because it is YOUR business. I am the BIGGEST Raider fan on the planet. I grew up as a ball boy for them and have been a loyal fan. I am also someone that realizes that this is a business and everyone has their own model. You do not have to agree or disagree with it. You only need to realize one thing, IT IS NOT YOUR TEAM, IT IS MR. DAVIS’S TEAM AND HIS BUSINESS MODEL AND IN THE END IT HIS DECISION THAT COUNTS!!!!