It's taken a while to blog this but here is my opinion of the 2010 draft

1. Rolando McClain LB Alabama: Great player, but I felt we had greater needs to fill.  However we've needed to stop the run on defense for quite some time.  Tom Cable said that there were 5 players in the draft that you couldn't miss with and they were Ndamukong Suh, Russell Okung, Trent Williams, Gerald McCoy, and Rolando McClain...Grade B because he's a stud but I felt we had a greater need.

2. Lamar Houston DL Texas: At first I was quite pissed about this pick because I thought he was too small to fit our need at DT (he was listed at 285 on his draft card and the Raiders have him listed at 305), but he was a beast at mini camp and I talked to a few Texas fans and they all said that he was a stud.  I personally wanted Terrence Cody DT Alabama with this pick because of his Mamouth size and felt he would occupy our need at DT better plus with the selection of McClain in round 1 I felt that drafting two NCAA teammates from a solid defense would be a major upgrade in our front 7.  The Raiders have him listed as a DE so I'm wondering if that means Seymour will move inside to DT...Grade B only because he did well at mini camp; had I written this before mini camp, it would've been a C.

3. Jared Veldheer OT Hillsdale: Who??? Small school mamouth with NFL potential.  Tom Cable knows OL and I will trust that this is the guy he had in mind when he passed on OT in round 1.  This guy may end up being a steal...Grade B- because there is uncertainty of how he will adapt to the NFL from a division II school.

4. Bruce Campbell OL Maryland: Projected by many experts as a first or second round pick because of his combine performance, I was surprised that he fell this low.  Cable said that if you compare his performance at the combine vs what he did on film did not equal first round matterial and the Raiders have been notorious for drafting combine warriors who's football performance didn't match up with the combine.  The Raiders are looking to move him to guard and that may be a good place for him since he struggled in pass protection from the tackle position in college and he came from the same run first offense that WR Darrius Heyward-Bey came from last year... Grade A+ because we didn't waste the first round pick on him and he was the best available OL at the time we drafted him.

5. Jacoby Ford WR Clemson: I could've won money off this pick because I knew the Raiders wouldn't ignore his 4.2 40 time.  I think he'll be pushing more for a returner job, but he had a better mini camp than Darrius Heyward-Bey did last year.  I read an article on him and it talked about his great speed, listed his 40 times over the years (4.0 HS, 4.1 NCAA, and 4.2 NFL combine), plus talked about his quick feet and it ended with "Oh by the way, he can catch the football."  Darrius Heyward-Bey ended his rookie season with 9 catches for 124 yards and 1 TD in 11 starts and that is what stud WRs do in 1 game, not 1 season.  This guy will give our current WRs and returners a good run for their money...Grade C+ because he seems like he'll be a great steal but WR wasn't really a need position; Schilens, Murphy, and Higgins seem like they can prevail with the right QB in.

6. Walter McFadden CB Auburn: Don't really know much about this guy, but we need depth at corner.  He had a pretty good senior year so he may be a good depth player.  He's either the brother or cousin of Bryant McFadden of the Steelers; no relation to Darren...Grade B

7. Travis Goethel LB Arizona State: 3 year starter at AZ state and very productive.  His tackle numbers seemed to drop his senior year but I'm sure he'll be good on special teams.  I think we should've used this pick on Eric Olsen C Notre Dame because I'm not sold on Samson Satelle and there were some decent LBs that went undrafted...Grade B- because he seems like a decent player, but we could've used an OL.

8. Jeremy Ware CB Michigan State: Very little info on this guy.  He ran a 4.3 at the combine and that had to be the reason for drafting him.  I think I found that he had 1 INT last year.  I think Brandon Carter G Texas Tech (who went undrafted) would've been a better pick...Grade F because there is not enough info available on him and there is more on guys that didn't get drafted.

9. Stevie Brown S Michigan: Led Michigan in Tackles as a senior and played both LB and S.  This guy is very good against the run and I think will make the team as a back up FS.  This guy is a hitting and tackling machine and will be a good special teamer...Grade A

Overall I'm gonna say a B- because we did fill some needs and took a stud in round 1 and our round 2 selection may turn out better than I expected initially plus we have a 4th rounder that was projected as a first rounder.