Every team misses during the NFL draft. It’s just the nature of the beast as franchises are selecting 20-22-year old kids with very little football experience. Players can fail for a variety of reasons, including ability, scheme fit, work ethic, etc.
Unfortunately, the Raiders have their fair share of misses in the first round. Arguably the biggest in NFL history is when the team selected Jamarcus Russell with the No. 1 pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.
In a recent article by Pro Football Focus, they named every team’s biggest draft miss since 2006. Not surprisingly, the pick of Russell showed up for the Raiders. Here is what the site had to say about that selection by the Raiders:
“The most infamous No. 1 overall pick bust in modern football history. Russell’s ineptitude and work ethic (or lack thereof) will be hard to top for the “biggest bust” crown. He completed only 52.1% of his career attempts and threw more picks than touchdowns in only three seasons.”
What makes that pick even more frustrating for the Raiders were the players that were selected immediately after Russell. Calvin Johnson and Joe Thomas were picked at No. 2 and No. 3 respectfully and they combined for 16 Pro Bowls during their career. A few picks later was Adrian Peterson, who is arguably one of the best running backs in NFL history.
Russell continues to be one of the biggest draft misses in NFL history and it’s a pick that Raiders fans would soon like to forget.
[vertical-gallery id=81452]
[lawrence-newsletter]