RaiderBeat.com Staff Report
Raiders coach Tom Cable said the Raiders landed the two players they coveted most in the first and second round of the NFL Draft on Saturday.
ESPN saddled the Raiders with the label as the team with the worst draft Saturday for selecting Maryland wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey and Ohio University safety Michael Mitchell.
The truth probably lies somewhere in between and won’t be known for some time. For better or worse, the Raiders added two players at positions of need.
“We got both of the guys that we targeted,” Cable said after Mitchell was taken with the 47th pick of the draft.
The Raiders also added a second fourth-round pick and a sixth-round pick Sunday by virtue of trading the No. 40 pick to the New England Patriots.
Heyward-Bey has been compared by scouts to former Raiders and current Patriots receiver Randy Moss, according to Cable.
Draft analysts would have you believe that, if Heyward-Bey has anything in common with Moss it’s the Moss who underachieved for the Raiders in 2005 and ’06 and not the one who posted Hall of Fame statistics for the Minnesota Vikings from 1998-2004 and the Patriots in 2007 and ’08.
“This has bust written all over it,” ESPN’s Todd McShay said. “You bring in a wide receiver who can basically be a speed guy. You can go vertically; he does a good job with that at a 4.3 (40-yard dash) speed. But, he does not catch the football consistently.
“If you’re going to draft in the top 10, you better draft a guy that can do it all. Michael Crabtree can do it all. Being obsessed with the 40 times is one of the reasons that Al Davis and the Raiders continue to pick at this spot.”
Most expected the Raiders to jump at Texas Tech’s Crabtree or Missouri’s Jeremy Maclin if one or both were available when the Raiders picked at No. 7.
Both were available, as it turned out. Instead of selecting the two-time winner of the Fred Biletnikoff Award – how is that for a cruel coincidence? – as college’s top receiver, the Raiders passed on Crabtree and drafted a player many projected as a mid- to late-first-round pick.
Crabtree went to the San Francisco 49ers at No. 10 and said that both teams got the player they wanted.
The Raiders released strong safety Gibril Wilson in February and still aren’t sure who his replacement will be come opening day Sept. 14.
Drafting Mitchell gives Cable one more option, along with second-year player Tyvon Branch.
Mitchell is a flat-out hitter who punishes ball carriers in much the way former Raiders safety Jack Tatum did during the 1970s.
Cable compared Mitchell to Tatum and one-time Raider Ronnie Lott. Coincidentally, those are the players Mitchell idolized as a youngster and patterned his game after.
Mitchell wasn’t invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in February. However, his stock soared after a Pro Day workout in which he ran a 4.43-second 40-yard dash.
After that, his phone rang non-stop, and he logged thousands of miles visiting teams from coast to coast. Numerous teams let it be known that they viewed Mitchell as a hidden gem.
Heyward-Bey and Mitchell will be given every opportunity to earn starting jobs this season, and it isn’t a stretch to envision both on the field for the regular-season opener against the San Diego Chargers.
Until then, Cable, Davis and the Raiders will be ridiculed for selecting players at spots others deemed too high. The first shots were fired Saturday.
Now it’s up to Heyward-Bey and Mitchell to answer the critics and justify their selections through their actions.
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i hope we can prove them wrong
Hey, this is a pleasant surprise. I expected to tune into raiderbeat for yet more doom and gloom, but I’m glad to see you guys are keeping it cool. I really think we got the best wide receiver in the draft. And a great attitude too. I’m mystified at the level of hatred this is engendering. I thought we wanted no-drama players?
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Go Raiders!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go Raiders!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hayward bey and mitchell will be good they are Raiders they both have something to prove and are going to be good just watch.letthe haters Hate and let these guys play.
Every year football fans, self included get all hyped up full pf hope in April for the draft. For us Raider fans, it’s always been a rough roller coaster, and 2009 is no different, ….well except for a couple extra loops thrown in.
Just remember that the draft has proven to be a 50/50 proposition for mots teams 1st round picks over the long haul. Robert Gallery was a can’t miss LT, Jake Grove was the best C that year as well. Michael Huff was the hard hitting, and cover S the Raiders needed so badly when he was drafted. Like other teams we’ve had our years where we’ve taken the general consensus ranked player at a position of need. Somrtimes it work, sometimes not. Let’s give it a few years before we sh*t all over DHB @ 7 and M Mitchell @ 47. Let’s hope we got it right, and didn’t repeat Fabian Washington or Philip Buchanon….
Man, where’s Fred Dryer when you need him?
Fan since ,72 but, Monroe was sitting there for them at 7, and Brace was there for them in the second round. This is the third year in a row where they should have come away with OL and DL in the first two rounds. I hate stupidity. Fortunately, I care less and less about them. They are entertaining though - as a joke. Too bad - they used to matter.
Every commentator out there has an ego that says “if he wasn’t on my list, he MUST be a bust”.
Well, I hope Darrius and Michael prove them all wrong.
I remember watching the draft with my Dad several years ago. We both looked at each other after the first Raiders pick was announced and said “Asom-who???”.
Several years later he’s one of the best if not THE best CBs in the NFL.
So maybe we reached a little with Mitchell. Who cares if it all pans out.
The Raiders went after who they wanted… and got them.
People may forget that once these receivers get in the NFL, one of the bet ways to bring out the talent is to practice against a great CB. Darrius will have every chance to hone his skills and route running against the best CB in the NFL. While (sorry) I couldn’t tell you who the 49′ers best CB is.
By the looks of the film on Mitchell, there’s every possibility he can knock someone’s head clean off. Great option for blitz packages will have Marshall drooling.
…Now we can sit back and enjoy our extra “day 2″ picks. GO RAIDERS!!!!!
They laughed at us at the spots we picked or even that we picked, Howie Long, Marcus Allen, Shell and Upshaw, Tim Brown, Ray Guy, Bo Jackson, Nnamdi, switching him from safety to corner, etc just to name a few examples and these guys turned out to be great Raider players. Every one will always laugh at the Raiders, but we seems to get the last laugh!
I like the players we picked, it just seems they were picked at spots a little higher than we would have liked. It is what it is and we need to back them up.
Today we have a chance at getting Jarron Gilbert DE/DT, Jasper Brinkley ILB, Jamon Meridth LT and a couple of big DT´s in the latter rounds. Lets go get our guys!!
LISTEN REAL SIMPLE, WE HAVE BEEN DRAFTING FAIRLY WELL, ESPECIALLY OUTSIDE OF THE FIRST ROUND… ILL TAKE A WAIT AND SEE APPROACH ON THESE 2 PICKS… I THINK CRAB WILL HAVE SOME SEPERATION PROBLEMS THAT THE NFL LEVEL, THEY PLAYED IN A RUN AND SHOOT 5 WIDE OFFENSE AT TECH, HE HAD A LOW AVERAGE PER CATCH AND LOW YAC FOR SUCH A PRODUCTIVE WR… TO ME HE STINKS OF A FLORIDA GATOR WR, THEY ARE ALL PRODCTIVE IN COLLEGE AND TURN OUT TO BE NOTHING MORE THAN JOURNEYMEN WR’s… AS FOR MACLIN, I WAS NEVER SOLD ON HIM EITHER, AND APPERNETLY NEIHER WERE 18 OTHER NFL TEAMS
NOW, WHILE I LIKE THE TRADE THAT GOT US A 4TH AND A 7TH ROUNDER FROM NE, ID WOULD HAVE MUCH RATHER STAYED PUT AND TAKEN RON BRACE OR EVERET BROWN, A TEAM TRADED UP AND GAVE UP THIER #1 PICK NEXT YEAR FOR BROWN, THAT WOULD HAVE HELPED OUT THIS TEAM TREMENDOUSLY
Who do you think knows more about evaluating talent? Al Davis or Mel Kiper, and Todd McShay? I think they are pissed because he makes the so-called “experts” look stupid. Al just has the balls to do what he wants, and not get pressured into picking what the unemployed GM’s and wannabe scouts say. How come no one is trashing the chiefs for their pick? A couple of days ago Tyson Jackson wasn’t even projected in the top fifteen. Now he is the number three pick. Other teams draft scared. Al said it best, “I rather be right than consistant.”
ESPN draft coverage is what it is….entertainment. Anything that has MeShawn Johnson as part of the analysis staff cannot be taken seriously.
People need to relax. Let the kids get on the field at an NFL level and show what they can do.
raiderpapi….you put it very well. I share the same sentiments. Let’s just let these guys get on the field and see what they can do. All anyone has right now of Mitchell and Heyward-Bey are highlight reels and press clippings.
The Raiders have always done very well on day 2 of the draft (it’s the first day that always ends up being “dramatic” with them). There’s a lot of good players available for us that will fill some D-line, O-line and LB needs.
JUST WIN BABY!
A far as ESPN and McShay if we took Crabtree the line would’ve been that Al just brought more drama into his locker room because of his attitude. Oakland never had the guy in for an interview for a reason. What the reasons were, I don’t know for sure.His attitude probably played a big role. I do know that in this past week regardless of anyone’s spin on that NFL.com chat, Crabtree made it clear he didn’t want to play for the Raiders.That was obvious.Don’t kid yourself Raider fans, he did Oakland was the last team he wanted to play for. I don’t know if anyone noticed but the NFL network cut to a live shot of Crabtree sitting in Radio City after the Bengals pick and he looked absolutely miserable. Suicidally despondent.Looked like he was about to cry. I thought Oakland was going to take him, so that kind of pissed me off seeing how upset he was. And it was reallyovious he was unhappy because he believed he was going to be drafted by the Oakland Raiders.That sucks.I have high hopes for Heyward-Bey. I really thin the Raiders would’ve had a BIG controversy/situation/drama or whatever had they selected Crabtree. Think Eli Manning when he was drafted #1by SD.(purely out of fear that Oakland would select him)Crabtree would’ve thrown a huge fit had Oakland taken him, it was written al over his face. So Todd McShay can eat it. Al rightfully passed on a guy that would’ve been an extremely talented malcontent for the Raiders. If they could’ve gotten him to actually sign a contract. I firmly believe that.
Why does everyone say that Fabian Washington is a Bust ? i always thought he was good , and he always started for us , well he was the number 2 anyway . i didn’t see anyone else take his starting job from him ? anyway , i think we got some good players out of the draft and its just dumb and premature to say that these guys are busts when they haven’t played an NFL down yet . You Never know what your gonna get and MC might not have been the best for us . GO RAIDERS !!!!!
-Gutterboy™
I don’t know where anybody is getting this idea that Crabtree looked at all happy about not playing for the Raiders. They also cut to him after the Raiders picked Heyward-Bey, and he looked genuinely surprised, disappointed and unhappy. There’s even an interview with Jason Smith, I think, where he talked about consoling him after the pick, and how he knows Crabtree is going to want to prove the Raiders wrong. I like Heyward-Bey better, but I think you guys watched a different draft than me. Crabtree looked anything but relieved when the Raiders didn’t take him.
The only problem in my opinion is we could have traded down and still picked up DHB. However, what would we have gotten in return that really, we didn’t eventually get with the NE trade (i.e. what round(s) would the picks have been in)?
Here are the facts, we didn’t need a possesion receiver ASSUMING Javon can stay healthy and play that role and/or anothe receiver can. For those who attended in person, when Jamarcus went deep it would have been nice to have someone catch up to his passes. This guy has both speed/size, he was “a first round pick” so, the only real knock would be the spot we picked him at NOT, if he’s a “good player” as, aren’t those considered “first round picks” SUPPOSED to be the best 32 out of ALL college players?
I wanna see how singletary is gonna like his new diva when he cant get open, he thought vernon could throw a fit, hee-hee. Don’t think the 9ers play baylor this year.Darius opposite a healthy(cross your fingers) walker with JLH in the slot, legs dead on contact(FU mayock)mcfadden and michael “this pick could be a big gamble” (FU mayock) bush, jamarcus fat albert(F em all)rusell. Piss on the commentators, I think I like our chances with that.
the 49ers can have crabtree. the only thing that covered him was his jersey.