48. G Stefen Wisniewski A

Wisniewski fits the range like a glove and fills a need for them at either guard or center, depending on what they decide to do with him. Nice pick.

81. CB DeMarcus Van Dyke A-

DeMarcus Van Dyke runs a 4.28 at 6-1 176. That makes him the 2^nd greatest cornerback of all time, 2^nd to Stanford Routt, at least in Al Davis’ mind.

No surprise Al Davis took a tall and fast cornerback. Surprisingly, I liked the pick. I thought Van Dyke was very underrated and with Nnamdi Asomugha gone, cornerbacks were definitely needed. It’s only a minor reach.

92. OT Joseph Barksdale A

Barksdale fills another hole for them on their offensive line and fits the draft range. Between Barksdale, Wisniewski, Bruce Campbell, and Jared Veldheer, they have 4 talented young offensive lineman who can play multiple positions. That will go a long way towards fixing this once miserable line.

113. CB Chimdi Chekwa A-

Chimdi Chekwa runs a 4.33 at 6-0 191. That makes him the 3^rd greatest cornerback of all time, 3^rd to Stanford Routt and DeMarcus Van Dyke.

Again, I’m not surprised the Raiders drafted a tall and fast cornerback, but again, I like the pick. They really needed depth at the position and this is only a minor reach by my board.

125. RB Taiwan Jones B-

Taiwan Jones runs a 4.29 at 6-0 194. That makes him the 2^nd greatest running back of all time, 2^nd to Darren McFadden.

The Raiders do need a backup for Darren McFadden with Michael Bush likely gone in pursuit of a starting job somewhere. However, I would have preferred a more complimentary power back, like Bush was. Jones and McFadden are too similar. Jones does fit the range, however.

148. WR Denarius Moore B

Denarius Moore runs a 4.37 at 6-0 194. That makes him the 2^nd greatest wide receiver of all time, 2^nd to Darrius Heyward Bey.

Moore was a bit of a reach, but he fills a need for them at receiver as they really lack dependable options there.

181. TE Richard Gordon C

Richard Gordon runs a 4.66 at 6-4 266. That makes him the greatest tight end of all time.

Gordon fills a need as a blocking tight end to compliment Zach Miller, but he wasn’t in my top 300 so this is a bit of a reach and I would have preferred to see them take a blocking tight end who can also catch. If Zach Miller signs elsewhere, they’re pretty screwed.

241. TE David Ausberry D

David Ausberry runs a 4.52 at 6-4 243. That makes him the 2^nd greatest tight end of all time, behind Richard Gordon.

Two tight ends weren’t needed and Ausberry, again, wasn’t in my top 300. I’m not even sure he’s a tight end. Some are saying fullback (not a need) or wide receiver (I doubt it). He’s probably just a special teamer if he can even make the roster.

Overall:

Anyone who says Al Davis doesn’t always draft fast players is just wrong. Discounting the two offensive lineman, every single player he drafted this year was fast. However, he didn’t draft badly. He filled needs on the offensive line and took two cornerbacks that were greatly needed and decently fit the range they were drafted in. Up until the final pick, they drafted for need with every pick and up until the final 2 picks, every pick they made fit the draft range decently. I wouldn’t say this is a flat A draft, especially since they gave up a future 2^nd rounder to New England, but this was a very good draft.

Grade: A-