Will the Raiders go RB?
NFL Draft Mailbag
December 13, 2004
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
Reader feedback is always welcomed here at DraftKing.com. Send your thoughts to me at LouPickney@gmail.com. I promise to update this more as the off-season approaches.
From: Gary Graham
Sent: Monday, December 13, 2004 2:49 PM
To: Lou Pickney
Subject: Draft King Question
With the Raiders season officially over, I am now turning my attention to April's draft. It looks like we will draft either #4, #5 or #6. With the glaring need at RB that the Raiders have do you think that Cadillac Williams or Cedric Benson would be good value for those picks? 2004 might be the worst running attack I have ever seen from a Raiders team and I know we need to get a RB in April's draft (by far the Raiders biggest team need). What do you think?
Lou: My personal ranking of the RBs is Cadillac Williams, Reggie Brown, Cedric Benson... and then a major drop-off. If Mike Williams is on the board, Oakland will have a huge decision to make, as the team also could definitely use a great young WR like M. Williams. But by the same token, Oakland's rushing game has been horrible. They showed a graphic during the Atlanta/Oakland game yesterday showing Oakland's rushing on a percentage basis, and it's down there near the Houston run-and-shoot teams of the early 90s.
Ideally for Oakland the team will be sitting at #6 (and not in the "big signing bonus" range of the top five picks) and snag the first RB of the draft there. Of course the Raiders' performance in the final games of the season will play into their position, but even at #3 or #4 if the Raiders see the RB there they need, they should take him.
I don't know that I would call it a "value" pick, though. Steven Jackson at #24 last season was a value pick. In my estimation, value comes from a highly ranked played who fell beyond his expected position into your lap. That doubly pays off when it fills a need. So I look at Oakland taking Cadillac at #4-#6 as being a good pick (high spot for a premium player), but not a "value" pick.
Another route that Oakland could consider is trading down in the draft. Arizona is a team that has RB needs, as does Miami. But the off-season will be topsy-turvy, and if Shawn Alexander leaves Seattle and joins either Miami or Arizona then things could get very fun. A thousand different scenarios could play out, but consider this: would Oakland trade down with hated rival Kansas City to allow the Chiefs to take Antrel Rolle if Oakland believed that it could get its RB a few spots down (and maybe pick up a 2006 second rounder in the process?) But odds are that Oakland stands pat and takes maybe Mike Williams if he's there, or if not then one of the big-time RBs (presuming that the RB need remains come draft day.)
