Top 10 players the Raiders let get away 1-5

5. DT La'Roi Glover

Was drafted by the Raiders in the fifth round in 1996. He Appeared in 2 games in his rookie season and wasn't even given enough plays to record a single statistic. He was released by the team the following offseason. At which point the Saints swiped him up immediately. In just his second season in New Orleans, he started 15 games and recorded 10 sacks. He retired in 2009 after a stellar 13-year career that saw him tally 83 sacks over 11 seasons with the Saints, Cowboys and Rams. His best season was in 2000 in which he had 17 sacks en route to a pro bowl bid.

4. DT Grady Jackson

Was drafted in the late sixth round out of small school Knoxville College. It took him until his fourth season in Oakland to break into the starting lineup but once he did, he was a middle clogging, run stopping, quarterback sacking force. He had eight sacks in 2000 which is saying a lot considering just how large a man he was-a generous 345 pounds. Then in 2001 he had 69 tackles and looked like he would be a force in the middle for a long time. But that ended up being his last year in Oakland. He became a free agent and the Saints swooped in again to nab yet another great Raider defensive tackle. It is no wonder that this was an area the Raiders struggled for so many years.

3. CB Tory James

Only played three seasons of a five-year contract with the Raiders which was surprising considering he combined for nine interceptions in the final two. Then he was released and signed with Cincinnati where he proceeded to have four great seasons in which he started every game and averaged over five interceptions a season.

2. QB Steve Beuerlein

Originally from Hollywood California, he was drafted by his then hometown Los Angeles Raiders in the fourth round of the 1987 draft. He was injured in the preseason and spent the entire season on the injured list. He would spend just two more seasons for the Raiders before he was let go.

A year later the Raiders would take USC QB Todd Marinovich in the first round of the '91 draft-and he proceeded to toke his way out of the NFL after just two seasons. Meanwhile, Beuerlein was starting for the Arizona Cardinals. After a successful stint with them, he became the very first selection in the 1995 NFL Expansion Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars and was the starting quarterback for the first game in team history.

He later went on to the Carolina Panthers where he holds many team passing records. These include single-season records for passing yards (4,436), touchdowns (36), attempts (571), and completions (343). He held every career Panther passing record until they were broken by Jake Delhomme. Beuerlein's 36 touchdown passes in 1999 is the twelfth highest single-season total in league history. And while he was putting together some nice seasons in Arizona and Carolina, the Raiders struggled with nine different starting quarterbacks-- Marinovich, Jay Schroeder, Jeff Hostetler (the best of the bunch), Billy Joe Hobert, Vince Evans, Jeff George, Donald Hollas, and Wade Wilson-- before they finally acquired Rich Gannon in 99.

1. CB Charles Woodson

Was the only primarily defensive Heisman winner EVER when the Raiders drafted him out of Michigan. He was as advertised too-- winning NFL defensive rookie of the year honors. He was that shut-down corner Al Davis had always coveted. But after three All-Pro honors, nine years of being one of the best corners in all of football, and being franchise tagged, he wanted to get a big payday. But the Raiders didn't want to give it to him so he left for Green Bay. He played opposite Asomugha during the years in which Nnamdi was still trying to find his game. It just makes me salivate thinking of the possibilities with those two on the field together in their primes. The Raiders would have had that lethal combo that Big Al was trying to get when he traded two draft picks and paid a truck load of money for DeAngelo Hall. So why didn't he just pay Woodson instead? I mean all he has done in his six seasons in Green Bay is catch 37 interceptions, go to four Pro Bowls, earn two All Pros and one Defensive Player of the Year.

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