5 players the Raiders should have drafted at No. 4 in the 2008 NFL Draft

Like every team, the Raiders have had their fair share of draft misses over the past two decades. In 2004, they selected Robert Gallery over Larry Fitzgerald, Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger. In 2007, they picked JaMarcus Russell over several …

2. WR DeSean Jackson

Think. Can you name the leading receivers for the Raiders during the 2008 season? Johnnie Lee Higgins had the most receiving yards (366) and the team started players such as Ashley Lelie, Javon Walker and Ronald Curry a bunch that season. Yikes.

While the 2008 draft didn’t have a ton of talent at receiver, DeSean Jackson would have been a great fit with the Raiders. Not only was he a California kid, but he was the most explosive receiver in the draft.

Despite lackluster size, Jackson produced like an elite receiver for most of his career. From 2008-2016, Jackson caught 498 passes for 8,819 yards and 46 touchdowns. He also was a dynamic punt returner and even had some big runs on offense, as well. For his career, he’s averaged well over 17 yards per reception and kept defensive coordinators up at night with his elite quickness and speed.

If the Raiders had selected Jackson at No. 4, they likely wouldn’t have picked speedster Darrius Hewayd-Bay with the No. 7 pick in the following year’s draft. Instead, they would have been much more likely to draft Michael Crabtree to pair with Jackson. Sigh.

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