Raiders Draft Day Autopsy

I am shocked—shocked!—that folks are shocked—shocked!—that I might be disappointed in our draft. 

Before the draft, I said that I didn’t think the Raiders should use their first pick on a receiver. I wanted a tackle. I felt that we should get aggressive about bolstering our lines with young talent. That was my take.

Therefore, it goes without saying that I didn’t think the Raiders should have picked Darrius Heyward-Bey with their first pick, let alone Crabtree or Maclin. 

Does that mean I’m convinced DHB will be a bust? No. It means that I think from the standpoints of value (seventh pick in the draft) and positional priority (wide receiver over, say, offensive line), we got the pick wrong. Naturally, this leads to disappointment.  

That’s my TAKE. Need I remind folks that this place is called Raider Take, not Raider Wait and See? 

Saying that I shouldn’t be disappointed because the draft is ultimately a crapshoot and because know one really knows how DHB will turn out…that’s not a take. That’s avoiding having a take. 

If you think that focusing on wide receiver in the first round was a great idea, and that prioritizing speed as the top attribute at the wide receiver position is brilliant, then have a take and say that you, too, would have chosen DHB with the seventh pick in the draft.

If that’s not your take, then what is it?

I hope I’m proven wrong, and that DHB is lights out. Until then, I’ll have a take. I’ve been wrong before. I’ve been right, too. That's because I have takes, and you know where I stand, and you can look them up after the fact. 

As for Mike Mitchell in the second round, well, I like the way he hits, but I think we reached in that instance, too. Again, it doesn’t mean he’s a bust. It means that I question the value we got out of that pick in the draft. We most likely could have grabbed him with our next pick. 

Did I miss something? Are we not the NFL equivalent of paupers? Are we in a position to squander value? 

As for the subsequent rounds, well, I'm still waiting for an offensive lineman. We did get another receiver and tight end, though, speaking of pressing needs (not). 

When asked if the Raiders has considered trading down and getting DHB later in the first round, Cable said: “No, that was never the plan. We knew what we wanted to do the whole time. This was the choice that we thought we had to have to move this team to the next step.”

Now, he could be saying that because he wants to keep the kid pumped up, but he said it nonetheless. That just doesn’t sound too wise to me. Wouldn’t you at least consider it? 

Anyhow, I could be wrong about all of this. I hope I am. But that’s my take as of today.