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 …

4. RB Jamaal Charles

While Chris Johnson had the better peak, Jamaal Charles might have been the better overall running back. Falling to pick No. 73, there were questions about whether or not Charles would be anything more than a scat-back in the NFL.

While he never received close to the amount of work that Johnson did with the Titans, Charles was maybe the most efficient back in NFL history. Throughout his career, Charles averaged an insane 5.4 yards per carry and 5.5 during his nine years with the Chiefs.

During the peak of his powers (2009-2012), Charles averaged 5.8 yards per carry and 6.2 yards per touch. But his best season came in 2013 when he was the team’s full-time starter. Charles totaled 1,980 yards and 19 touchdowns on just 329 touches. Making matters worse, he tormented the Raiders, scoring 11 touchdowns in 14 games.

While picking a running back at No. 4 doesn’t seem like great value, Charles was a special back who didn’t need a ton of touches to make an impact on the game.

[lawrence-newsletter]

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5