With The Eighth Pick In the Draft the Oakland Raiders Select…..

April 18, 2010   ·   bill hinton   ·   Jump to comments

It's always a challenge to try to figure out what Al Davis will do in the draft. Conventional wisdom says the Raiders would take an offensive or defensive lineman with their first selection. Conventional wisdom and Al Davis are rarely used in the same sentence so let's think outside the box a bit.
Joe Haden is the clear-cut best player at his position available in the draft. He plays cornerback, a position Al Davis and most NFL executives value immensely. Cornerback, unlike o-line and d-line, is very shallow in this year's draft. Impact lineman will be available later on shutdown corners won't.
Here are some more reasons why Haden will be the pick:
1. Haden might be able to make a more immediate impact on the run defense than an upgrade at defensive tackle. Here's why. Not only does Haden play the run well, but with Nnamdi and himself able to lock up in man coverage they can confidently drop sure tackling Tyvon Branch into the box to stop the run.
2. Teams migh...

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