4 players the Raiders should have drafted at No. 7 in the 2009 NFL Draft

4 players the Raiders should have drafted at No. 7 in the 2009 NFL Draft

4. WR Michael Crabtree

While any of the three players listed above would have made sense for the Raiders at No. 7, the pick the team should have made was Michael Crabtree. Heading into the draft, it seemed like a lock that Crabtree would be the pick for the Raiders as he was the consensus top receiver in the class and the team needed a No. 1 receiver. Instead, the team opted for speed over college production and it burnt them.

Crabtree eventually made his way to the Raiders in 2015 and had three good seasons as the team’s No. 2 receiver opposite of Amari Cooper. In 46 games, Crabtree caught 232 passes for 2,543 yards and 25 touchdowns. But at that stage in his career, he didn’t have the speed or burst to become anything more than a complementary player.

While he certainly didn’t have a Pro Bowl-caliber career, he was by far the best receiver in the class. It’s unfortunate that this pairing didn’t happen sooner.

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