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Hey, I have no personal animosity towards the Raiders, but I'm going to chime in here. Hey-Bey was, IMO, a bad pick. Why? Because even if he ends up being a great player and the best WR in this class, Al could have traded way down and still gotten him. After all, Maclin went at 19 and that FLA receiver went at 22. No team that I can think of would have taken Heyward-Bey anywhere near #7, the Raiders were basically bidding against themselves. Al's apologists might say it was difficult to trade out of the #7 spot, but Cleveland was able to trade out of the #5 spot (traded down several times, in fact). The only way I'll end up thinking this was a smart pick is if it later comes to light that (1) Al and the Raiders had identified Hey-Bey as a player they had to have, and (2) they had some pretty good information that a team picking soon after #7 was planning to snag him. Short of that, I don't know how this goes down as a good pick when the Raiders have so many other needs that could have been addressed with additional picks by way of trading down to get their player.

Same deal with Mitchell. He might turn into a great player, but he did not have to be drafted in the 2nd round (SI didn't even have enough info on Mitchell to give that pick a draft grade like all the others).

Not trying to upset you, or kick a team when it's down, just trying to keep it real.

agree with ^^^^....this teams management, or lack there of, is really screwing you fans.

I dissagree with all of you, but respect your opinions..........this is the first draft where Al didn't take the best player available. He took a kid that will have to work harder than any other WR in the league. This was not the best WR in the draft, but the one and only thing thats great about this kid is........he's raw and coachable. You take his speed and height, and pray he has an outstanding work ethic, which he does, then you have a great hall of famer..

This guy Mitchell, could turn into the next Brian Dawkins......this kid can hit.....and again is very raw and coachable......with good coaching, he'll be great, and make others great. The two picks are low pro and that's how the Raiders are......you think the raiders care what people think, I doubt it.....but it's funny, how everyone hates the raiders, but yet there always in the spot light. Must be the worst best team ever........

QUOTE(#3):

Originally posted 10:58 AM ET  04.26 by TBrown81

I dissagree with all of you, but respect your opinions..........this is the first draft where Al didn't take the best player available. He took a kid that will have to work harder than any other WR in the league. This was not the best WR in the draft, but the one and only thing thats great about this kid is........he's raw and coachable. You take his speed and height, and pray he has an outstanding work ethic, which he does, then you have a great hall of famer..

Well said and possible true but I must agree with gcn's comment. Darrius has a chip on his shoulder and the pressure could motivate him or destroy him... time will tell.

Man, it's all the same on every blog on the net. "Al is crazy" or "Raiders blew this one," I even saw a clip from ESPN with everyone laughing at the pick.
I challenge you all to think out of the box for once this weekend. What makes you think Heyward has got to come in and be the next Jerry Rice, T.O., or Randy Moss? My question is why does this punk from Denver (Javon Walker) get to skate by your criticism with his multi million dollar contract only playing part of the season last year? Me, I would have taken *any* of the recievers in yesterday's draft before letting Javon play one more snap for the Raiders.
By the way, I'm liking the way things are going in Oakland. Kiffin the whiner out, Cable "The man" -in. Heyward doesn't have to be the next Jerry Rice. He's got help from McFadden, Bush, and Jamarcus. I do wish we would get Kelly some help on D though. The man gets double and triple teamed. How about a pass rush man?

QUOTE(#6):

Originally posted 06:32 PM ET  04.26 by Gman707

Man, it's all the same on every blog on the net. "Al is crazy" or "Raiders blew this one," I even saw a clip from ESPN with everyone laughing at the pick. I challenge you all to think out of the box for once this weekend. What makes you think Heyward has got to come in and be the next Jerry Rice, T.O., or Randy Moss? My question is why does this punk from Denver (Javon Walker) get to skate by your criticism with his multi million dollar contract only playing part of the season last year? Me, I would have taken *any* of the recievers in yesterday's draft before letting Javon play one more snap for the Raiders.By the way, I'm liking the way things are going in Oakland. Kiffin the whiner out, Cable "The man" -in. Heyward doesn't have to be the next Jerry Rice. He's got help from McFadden, Bush, and Jamarcus. I do wish we would get Kelly some help on D though. The man gets double and triple teamed. How about a pass rush man?

thanx and i agree with you just hang tight and let everyone laugh and now while we watch them cry later

QUOTE(#6):

Originally posted 06:32 PM ET  04.26 by Gman707

Man, it's all the same on every blog on the net. "Al is crazy" or "Raiders blew this one," I even saw a clip from ESPN with everyone laughing at the pick. I challenge you all to think out of the box for once this weekend. What makes you think Heyward has got to come in and be the next Jerry Rice, T.O., or Randy Moss? My question is why does this punk from Denver (Javon Walker) get to skate by your criticism with his multi million dollar contract only playing part of the season last year? Me, I would have taken *any* of the recievers in yesterday's draft before letting Javon play one more snap for the Raiders.By the way, I'm liking the way things are going in Oakland. Kiffin the whiner out, Cable "The man" -in. Heyward doesn't have to be the next Jerry Rice. He's got help from McFadden, Bush, and Jamarcus. I do wish we would get Kelly some help on D though. The man gets double and triple teamed. How about a pass rush man?

Guys, guys. Who on this blog was being crass or extreme against Oakland? I don't think I was, or the MF Doom guy, either. You are loyal Raiders fans, fine, I give you credit for staying loyal when many other might have long since jumped off the bandwagon.

But are you really taking the position that Al can't screw up? That anything directed against Oakland management is blasphemy? That anybody who says anything except, "The Raiders sure hit a home run on Day 1 of the draft!" is just a hater?

Like I indicated previously, I'm sure not willing to predict that Heyward-Bey is going to be a bust, or Mitchell, either. They might end up being great players. All I'm saying is, I think it wasn't a good move for Davis to take those players as early as he did. By trading down, he could have saved literally tens of millions of dollars in the contract and picked up additional draft picks to boot. If you're disagreeing with this, fine, but I just wanted to clarify what the criticism was.

Gman707, you seem to be saying that bringing Javon Walker in at the price Oakland paid was a bad move, so bad that you'd rather have "any" of the WRs available in this draft. Know what? I agree with you, I thought the acquisition of Walker was a terrible move when it happened, that Oakland vastly overpaid Walker when it didn't have to because nobody was going to pay Walker anything near that amount. But how does this help defend Al? He was completely responsible for it. It's exactly this kind of transaction that fits in with what I said earlier, that Al was basically bidding against himself like with Hey-Bey.

Maybe there's no way for me to say I feel sorry for you Oakland fans having to deal with Al Davis without you taking offense, but that's what I'm trying to do. You Raiders fans deserve better than Davis has been giving you. Somehow, I suspect a lot of other Oakland fans just like you would agree with me.

QUOTE(#7):

Originally posted 08:43 PM ET  04.26 by lizard_52

thanx and i agree with you just hang tight and let everyone laugh and now while we watch them cry later

Laugh? I'm not laughing or making fun of you. I actually feel bad for loyal Oakland fans because, like I said earlier, I think you deserve better.

This mad genius slant on Al Davis is bogus. his method, or lack there of, is wacked. For every Nmamdi there is a Buchannon, Dudley, Brayton, Washington, Bates, and on and on. Bey at #7 was silly. I know he is fast but so was james jett and at best he was a good #3 receiver. The top 3 receivers of all time, Rice, T. Brown, & Carter were not the fastest guys in the league, at the combine, or even on their own teams, they were all very productive college receivers with great hands, that ran disciplined routes. Speed is the only weapon Bey has, watch the tape on him.

I do hope he turns out to be great, but he will have to develop a work ethic and discipline to do so.

The rest of the Raiders draft is embarrassing. Not one OL? Give me a break. There are reasons why no one drafts like Al Davis...it doesn't work

To non-educated raider fan: The Raiders picked up 4 or 5 FA OT. Mario Henderson was playing very well against good comp on his last three starts. Barnes got a one year deal and a promise from Al (he does want he wants but he keeps his word to his players) if his play is steller Al will give hime the big contract and he is a B or C tier player NOW. With coaching and comp that can go to A or B tier player. ALL DRAFT PICKS ARE MAYBES. True he could have gotten DHB if he had traded down and picked up a DT somewhere in the draft for depth even though I like the guy we picked up from the Redskins. Overall the picks may not have the right now skills or numbers of others in their positions, but this is where I like the relationship Cable has with Al. Al gets his measureables, but the character and work ethic and team player mentality that all of the picks have are all Cables guys. All of the picks are very coachable. Check out the Q & A on www.raiders.com with them and the interview with DHB on ESPN.com. All NFL players have skill it is the intangibles that make great players great and I like that Cable is trying to identify and find those type of players.