The 2013 NFL Draft wasn’t kind to the Oakland Raiders. Picking at No. 12, the Raiders “reached” on cornerback D.J. Hayden, who most considered a Day 2 pick before that weekend. Despite only two years of production at Houston, the Raiders were hoping they would strike gold on the next Nnamdi Amougha.

Unfortunately, Hayden proved the draft experts right as he struggled to stay healthy for most of his career. But to his credit, he’s developed into a solid starter for the Jaguars when he is healthy. But despite the late-career turnaround, the selection of Hayden was the wrong one for the Raiders.

Today, we are looking at a handful of players the Raiders should have selected at that No. 12 spot. We will ignore players drafted after the first round and instead, focus on players who were actually in the conversation for most teams in that range. With that in mind, here are the five players the Raiders should have selected in the 2013 NFL Draft.

WR DeAndre Hopkins

The best player in the first round, by far, was DeAndre Hopkins. Despite being incredibly productive at Clemson, Hopkins fell to the No. 27 pick to the Houston Texans. He’s made three-straight All-Pro teams, catching 315 passes for 4,115 yards and 31 touchdowns.

If the Raiders would have selected Hopkins in the first round, they could have paired him with Amari Cooper or went a different direction entirely in the 2015 draft. Either way, Hopkins is the clear-cut best player from the 2013 draft.

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