Cold Thoughts on A Hot Draft

My older brother said it best several years ago: “Stick me in a freezer and thaw me out on game day.” Now we say it every year, right around the second Raiders preseason game—on some hot August day when we can’t take the anticipation any longer, when September can’t come fast enough, when we’d rather join the TV dinners and frozen fish than live with the clock ticking so slowly toward the start of the regular season. Ever had that feeling?

Well, the draft is now starting to feel that way, too. It may not be at freezer level, but certainly refrigerator, or even ice chest. I can’t recall a draft with this much hype and discussion and anticipation. I can't wait, and it's killing me, so just put me on ice.

Maybe it’s the caliber and star quality of the players (by comparison, Aaron Rodgers and Alex Smith were hot topics last year). Maybe it’s the growth of NFL-dedicated news sources such as NFL Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Maybe it’s the explosion of blogs and other internet sports resources, which amplify the 24-hour white noise of speculation and discussion. I don’t know. All I know is that this draft business is exceeding triple digits on the anticipation thermometer this year. The draft is everywhere, nonstop at high volume, consuming everything, the NBA, MLB and world politics.

Is Michael Huff the answer to our prayers or the latest in a dubious trend of first-round DBs? Do we need to draft a QB, or is the QB of the future already on our team? What about those front lines? Who's going to help LaMont Jordan carry the load this year? Is Jerry Porter trade bait? Should he be? These are all unanswered questions that will, or might, shape what goes down this weekend.

I don’t profess to be an expert or a psychic. I won’t presume to tell you who I think the Raiders should or will pick in the fourth round…

However, here are some parting thoughts before I make my bed of ice cubes: If we go the QB route, I would prefer Leinart over Young, but I also like Young’s upside if it comes to that. My heart tells me that it’s high time that the Oakland Raiders groom their own QB of the future. Is that QB already on the roster in the form of Andrew Walter? The answer to that question lies in the team’s internal opinion of Walter, which just begs another question without an answer. My head tells me that the Raiders should play it safe and fill a glaring need in the first round, such as safety, linebacker, defensive line or offensive line. The Raider Nation, and specifically many of the brilliant characters who are kind enough to comment on Raider Take, have convinced me that Mike Huff would be a solid first-round selection, despite my first-round DB phobia. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Raiders make a blockbuster deal to move up and nab their favorite pick (whoever that might be). I wouldn’t be crushed if Jerry Porter became trade bait—we’ve got a lot of depth at receiver, and I think the image of Jerry Porter exceeds the reality, and thus we might be able to get more than fair value for him. I think we need Justin Fargas to step up fast, and if the Raiders have lost confidence in him, then I wouldn’t be surprised to see them select a sleeper running back or fullback in a later round, as depth is becoming an issue on that front (although I concede that it’s possible Zack Crockett was a casualty of Norv Turner’s inanity last year, and that he might have more to offer than we’ve seen lately).

Thank you for listening. I’m now going to turn on the air conditioner, pour a cold one and have a seat next to the ice cream.