Let’s be clear right now - nobody would watch the NFL draft if every team drafted wisely. Just like car racing is only good for the crashes, which is unimpeachable fact, people really watch the draft for the lousy picks, the ones that leave the fans at Radio City agape in disbelief.
(Yes, howl in anger. Howl for my amusement.)
In that sense, then, our hats are off to Oakland, who just selected Darrius Heyward-Bey, a Maryland speedster who nobody figured was a top 10 talent. While he was still projected as a first-round pick, he was in no way the top WR on the board - that’d have been Michael Crabtree, who’ll be able to thumb his nose from San Francisco across the bay at the Raiders for years to come. Heyward-Bey, while supremely athletic, possesses all the qualities that add up to “epic WR bust,” mainly a lack of production in college, an inability to run a crisp route, and hands of stone. So he can’t run a decent square in, nor would he be able to catch it anyway. Sign that man!
Al Davis, who is a total cancer on his own team, wasn’t done wrecking the franchise once again. His next pick was Ohio safety Michael Mitchell, two names that could theoretically be pronounced exactly the same. Mitchell didn’t run a fast 40 at the combine, mainly because he wasn’t even invited. But at Ohio’s pro day, Mitchell ran a 4.40 40, and Davis was apparently smitten. But Mitchell was never a very good player, and every analyst figured he’d be drafted later. Like four rounds later.
Past that, the story of the draft was the quarterbacks. Matt Stafford was the first pick, obviously, having signed with Detroit yesterday.Then the Jets traded all the way up to the fifth pick to select Mark Sanchez, despite the odds against a quarterback succeeding in the NFL after all of 16 career starts. Still, Sanchez isn’t nearly the risk that Josh Freeman is. Freeman, despite having more red flags than Tiennamen Square, went at the 17th pick after Tampa Bay traded up for the pick.
So, let’s recap: Stafford, who is by no means a lock to succeed, especially behind a sieve of an offensive line, signs the largest rookie contract ever. The next two quarterbacks, both of whom are extremely risky picks, were drafted by teams who needed the players so badly that they traded up for the picks both times. That’s such strange behavior for what looks like the weakest first round quarterback class since at least 2002 (David Carr, Joey Harrington, J.P. Losman Patrick Ramsey).
But with all that analysis, we’re getting away from our earlier point: angry fans are funny. So let’s ride out with Jets fans tortured over the years:
6:32 am on April 26th, 2009
As a raider fan i dont even know what to say. My jaw was on the ground yesterday after their 1st pick. Ive said for a few years now, the Raiders need Al Davis to sell the team or just die off. As painful as it is to be a fan , I cant even imagine how bad it must be to be a coach on that team. "Yea Al we want Crabtree, or Maclin… Yea well Im the insane old fart who cant judge talent and signs the checks so… i want…." At this point I figure it wont be long before a coach poisons Al or a crazed Raider fan takes him out.
6:45 am on April 26th, 2009
I think old Al is on speed.
6:34 pm on April 26th, 2009
Inwardly, I tried to convince myself that the Raiders weren't going to, you know, act with some common sense and at least take Maclin, if not Crabtree, but I knew better.
Maybe Heyward-Bey will shine, and Crabtree will end up being a bust, but I'm thinking Shaun Hill's soiling himself with glee right now.
8:13 pm on April 26th, 2009
Im a Maryland fan and watching Bay I know he is a very, very good player. I think possibly better than Maclin and definitely Percy Harvin as a NFL receiver. He can make plays and the Raiders made a good choice, but not for the 7th pick. Crabtree is absolutely the best receiver, but I can see why a team not want him, especially good ol' Al. But to take Bay over him is crossing the line. Why not just trade down to 25, pick up a couple extra picks in the second and possibly third rounds and then take Bay then when he would have been available. This is the separation factor between the Raiders and Patriots. The Pats actually analyze the situation and are able to pick up an extra few players in late rounds (i.e. Tom Brady) and still get the guy they would have picked with their original spot. But hey, at least its fun to watch the Raider fans suffer every year, especially as a Niners fan.Oh, and WE GOT CRABTREE BITCHES.
9:59 pm on April 26th, 2009
Hey Guy, why don't you just sell-out and become a Patriots fan of just die off yourself.
A real Raiders fan here till I die and I'm never going to sell-out or sell-off.
10:25 pm on April 26th, 2009
Losman was drafted in '04…
10:30 pm on April 26th, 2009
Thanks OMD, I confused my undersized noodle-arms and wrote Losman instead of Patrick Ramsey. My point, of course, still stands.
1:30 pm on April 27th, 2009
Leave it to Al Davis to pass on the hands down #1 receiver in college football 2 years running for a career underachiever…. And this my friends is why you don't see the Raiders winning Super Bowls anymore.