The goings on within the Oakland Raiders organization always perplexes me. They seemed to be headed in the right direction, they delivered a very strong 2010 draft class and yet AL Davis is up to his old tricks. Despite a step in the right direction he whacked head coach Tom Cable and has turned the team over to Hue Jackson. Now a really good 2010 class awaits the next step, a very good 2011 draft class.
Here is a quick look at the 2010 Raiders draft class:
- Round One- LB Rolando McClain
- Round Two- DE Lamarr Houston
- Round Three- OL Jared Veldheer
- Round Four- OL Bruce Campbell
- Round Four- WR Jacoby Ford
- Round Five- DB Walter McFadden
- Round Six- LB Travis Goethel
- Round Seven- DB Jeremy Ware
- Round Seven- S Stevie Brown
So a year ago I was not sold on this class . However it now looks like Jared Veldheer was a great pick, and the hope is Campbell develops into the RG of the future. Of course McClain was a great pick and had 85 tackles and one INT. Houston stepped in and racked up five sacks helping the Raiders raise their team total to 47. Ford returned three kickoffs for touch downs and caught 25 passes. McFadden didn’t play much but still has big upside. Goethel was a special teams player while Ware and Brown are developmental players.
All in all we have to give this draft class an A grade. They got two legit starters, two big pieces along their O line, and a nice crop of specialty players that could develop into something more. Al saved his insanity last year and we hope he can do it again in 2011.
Related Links:
- Oakland Raiders War Room
- Joshua Lobdell.com