Arguably the biggest mistake the Raiders have ever made as a franchise is selecting JaMarcus Russell with the No. 1 pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. Not only did he fail in Oakland, picks No. 2, No. 3 and No. 7 combined to make 23 Pro Bowls during their NFL career.

If the Raiders had a time-machine and could back to that night, who would they have picked at No. 1? Would they have still tried to improve their offense? Or should they have taken a generational defender?

Today, we are taking a look at the five players the Raiders should have drafted with the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft.

1. WR Calvin Johnson

The No. 2 pick in the draft, Calvin Johnson would go on to become one of the best receivers of the decade. In nine seasons with the Lions, Johnson totaled 11,619 receiving yards and 83 touchdowns.

At his peak, he was the most physically dominating receivers in the NFL as he ran a 4.35 40-yard dash at 6’5, 239 pounds. While Johnson rarely played with a competent quarterback, we saw his ceiling in 2012 with Matt Stafford as he caught 122 passes for 1,964 yards.

While the Raiders certainly needed a franchise quarterback, getting a Hall-of-Fame caliber receiver would have helped any quarterback on the roster. Given just how freaky of an athlete Johnson was coming out of college, he should have been the no-brainer decision at No. 1.

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