NFL Draft Weekend Team Thread: Oakland Raiders

[swamp dog 0]

i'll be stunned if they pass on leinhart

 

okay, i'm stunned.

[Ignition Technition 0]

Solid Pick

[t.j 35]

Defense it is. I liked Ngata a little better, but I was pretty much alone there. Huff can start right away and we needed a safety somewhere in the draft. Pretty pick to me... which beats

[dirty dug 0]

Defense it is. I liked Ngata a little better, but I was pretty much alone there. Huff can start right away and we needed a safety somewhere in the draft. Pretty pick to me... which beats

 

I love the pick, instant upgrade in the secondary!

 

Best thing that could happen to Leinart also! Hopefully he goes to Arizona, which has two solid WRs, a decent running game! And it's in the West!

[MahSoonerz 0]

You knew Davis would take Huff because he is so fast. I almost thought they'd nab Tye Hill just because he was the fastest at the combine, but Huff is almost as fast so I went with him. 7/7 so far but I blew the trade bonus. Great pick for the Raiders.

[t.j 35]

I should have gotten this one right in the draft contest.

[toro5741 0]

I like the pick, here's hoping they can grab Gabe Watson early in the 2nd round.

[RaidersFan x18x 0]

[Nichee 0]

I'm happy with the pick.

 

I think it was the best choice of what was available. Wanted Hawk, but knew that was a pipe dream w/o moving up.

 

Huff will do fine.

[t.j 35]

Huff has the coverage ability that Roy Williams doesn't. I think safety is a very underrated position, so I think this has the potential to be a very good pick. Teams that have safeties that make good decisions and take good angles have a huge advantage on defense. I'm not all that familiar with Huff, though, as the top 10 prospects go. Time to read up, I guess.

[whoisjgalt 0]

I like the pick, here's hoping they can grab Gabe Watson early in the 2nd round.

 

They need to fill that DT need early too. Huff and DT in the 2nd and OLB in the 3rd vs Ngata and a Safety and OLB later on. We'll have to see how it plays out with what's available later on.

 

This pick was fine. I guess Walter gets to be the backup and a couple years to develop (and hopefully get to start if/when the '06 season goes sour).

[Nichee 0]

I do have a question about Huff, for those who have seen him play a lot - can the guy hit?

 

During the clips after he was selected, I saw him make a lot of tackles and some were hard tackles but I didn't see him lay anybody out. You'd think that would be in his highlight package.

 

So, what's the deal?

[t.j 35]

http://www.nfl.com/draft/profiles/2006/huff_michael

 

These NFL prospect profiles haven't gotten good reviews from draftniks, but they do have tons of information about every aspect of a player's game.

 

FINAL GRADE I 6.3 CB

 

CRITICAL FACTORS

Athletic Ability 6.5

Coverage 6.5

Tackling 6.0

Competes 6.5

Play Speed 6.5

Instincts 6.0

 

GM Jr.'s Numerical Grading Scale

Number Description Round

7.0 - 7.9 Pro Bowl Player – A true difference maker 1st

6.5 - 6.9 Highly productive starting player 1st

6.4 Very good starting player 1st/2nd

6.3 Very good starting player 2nd

6.1 - 6.2 Good starting player 3rd

6.0 Very productive backup now/will develop into starter 3rd

[dirty dug 0]

Huff has the coverage ability that Roy Williams doesn't. I think safety is a very underrated position, so I think this has the potential to be a very good pick. I'm not all that familiar with Huff, though, as the top 10 prospects go. Time to read up, I guess.

 

What I love about Huff is that he's a competitor who plays where he's needed. And he went to the combine and competed there, and was the best. He's a winner and he's going to be able to bring a great attitude to the Raiders defense. We need to go LB in the second, IMO.

[t.j 35]

We need to go LB in the second, IMO.

 

We need a starting OLB, bad. Perhaps two. Agree with jgalt that we need DT as well.

[MahSoonerz 0]

I do have a question about Huff, for those who have seen him play a lot - can the guy hit?

 

During the clips after he was selected, I saw him make a lot of tackles and some were hard tackles but I didn't see him lay anybody out. You'd think that would be in his highlight package.

 

So, what's the deal?

 

Oh yes, Huff can hit. But it's a good sign for his health if he can use his speed first and power second.

[Tusekan Raiders 0]

Huff hits too high for the NFL. He's be better at corner until he learns to tackle.

[t.j 35]

Reading up on him, he doesn't sound like a great decision-maker or impact player at the point of attack.

[Tusekan Raiders 0]

Reading up on him, he doesn't sound like a great decision-maker or impact player at the point of attack.

 

I would disagree with the first but agree with the second. If he doesn't learn to get his hips low and thrust, he is going to get blown up at line if scrimmage at the next level.

[Thin Spirit 0]

Oh yes, Huff can hit. But it's a good sign for his health if he can use his speed first and power second.

 

Any game I've seen and of all the highlight films I've seen, I have never seen this guy lay a hard hit on anyone.

 

That's not saying much for a Safety.

[t.j 35]

So, is he best-suited as a FS perhaps? Currently what we have is: FS Stuart Schweigert, recent draft pick who started most of last year and has pretty good speed and coverage skills; SS Derrick Gibson, former first round draft pick who can't stay healthy; FS Jarrod Cooper who sucks even on special teams; DB Chris Carr, undersized and fast, maybe more useful as a CB than a S. I'm torn here, I hate to keep Schweigert out of the lineup, but if we go Huff/Schweigert then we don't have any presence with an 8th man in the box.

[Super Monster Raiders 0]

Al Davis is my HERO!!!!!

[DaveJ 0]

Okay.. Huff not a bad player... but not for #7. I'm disappointed they didn't trade down once Young was gone. I had hoped Zona would have traded up to get Leinart, but apparently they were comfy with him falling to them on his own. I would have preferred them to trade down and take Cutler...

 

We are going to see a lot of Cutler in the coming years and it will be interesting to see who has a better career, Huff or Cutler.

[ajmplaya69 0]

Stupid pick whats more important a franchise QB or franchise Safety? Exactly and this is coming from a die hard Raider Fan.

[junk 0]

Stupid pick whats more important a franchise QB or franchise Safety? Exactly and this is coming from a die hard Raider Fan.

 

i dunno....ed reed is badass

[Ignition Technition 0]

Its a solid pick nothing more or less, im not overly excited, not really a surprise, put whomever runs the fastest 40 time at the combine in front of Davis alongside a 1st rd QB, and you know which way he will go all the time.

 

Gibson,Asamougha,Washington,Stanford Routt, how many more highly drafted speedy DB's do we need to draft?

 

Hope he can tackle, cos none of the aforementioned can,its said he will play 10 lbs heavier than listed. 203 seems awfully small for a safety.

 

I was p*ssed last year when we took Washington ahead of Aaron Rodgers, this year im ok with this pick.. just about.

 

Just wished we had drafted Cutler #7 i'm not sure QB's like him come around too often, and now he has gone to Dungver

 

I am not sold on Walter ( mainly cos our o line sucks so bad, but also the ASU system )Hopefully Kellen Clemens will be around at pick #69

[MahSoonerz 0]

Huff hits too high for the NFL. He's be better at corner until he learns to tackle.

 

Yeah, you are probably right now that I think about it. But that's a coachable thing, right?

[Ignition Technition 0]

Would like to see a DT next, not sold on Rodrique Wright, but he is a possibility,maybe Claude Wroten ( not sure how far he will fall due to his off field stuff) the guy has first rd talent, but then again they said that about Hawthorne who we took last year after the Ganja caused him to drop to rd 5, and he did nothing last year.

[whoisjgalt 0]

DT or OT - maybe Justice here and move Simms inside. But DT is a huge need.

[Ignition Technition 0]

Could certainly live with Justice here.

[whoisjgalt 0]

Well, OLB is the other need to fill.

 

I'd rather have gone Justice or Watson here, but I can live with this pick. Just not overly excited about it. Could have been a lot worse.

[Ignition Technition 0]

WTF, looks like another one of those Al Davis projects, like when we drafted LB/DE Williams from Fresno st, ( who has done jackshiot) , we are in a division where we face LT2, LJ, and the denver rb system 6 times a year, and we cant find a decent DT in rd 2? wtf , fock u al davis !!

[Orgazmo 2]

WTF, looks like another one of those Al Davis projects, like when we drafted LB/DE Williams from Fresno st, ( who has done jackshiot) , we are in a division where we face LT2, LJ, and the denver rb system 6 times a year, and we cant find a decent DT in rd 2? wtf , fock u al davis !!

[whoisjgalt 0]

WTF, looks like another one of those Al Davis projects, like when we drafted LB/DE Williams from Fresno st, ( who has done jackshiot) , we are in a division where we face LT2, LJ, and the denver rb system 6 times a year, and we cant find a decent DT in rd 2? wtf , fock u al davis !!

 

We've got two fairly good (good enough) ILB's and not a single NFL-calibre OLB on the whole focking roster. OLB is a huge need too. This is a decent spot for Howard, not a reach or not much of one.

 

I'd prefer DT or Justice, but this isn't as bad as you are trying to make it seem.

[Ignition Technition 0]

We've got two fairly good (good enough) ILB's and not a single NFL-calibre OLB on the whole focking roster. OLB is a huge need too. This is a decent spot for Howard, not a reach or not much of one.

 

I'd prefer DT or Justice, but this isn't as bad as you are trying to make it seem.

 

 

just the draft day talking, its been 6 hrs so far.

 

 

i dont see us trading into rd 2, so i may crash very soon.

[whoisjgalt 0]

The DT's continue to fall.

 

[t.j 35]

WTF, looks like another one of those Al Davis projects, like when we drafted LB/DE Williams from Fresno st, ( who has done jackshiot) , we are in a division where we face LT2, LJ, and the denver rb system 6 times a year, and we cant find a decent DT in rd 2? wtf , fock u al davis !!

 

Facing LT, Gates, and Gonzo is what I like about the Howard pick. Both Howard and Huff can play man-to-man coverage and that is something we really lacked last year... when the opponent had a good TE or receiving RB we didn't have any backers who could do anything about it. These guys should help us avoid matchup problems. That said they both need to improve their recognition it sounds like, so the Shanahan's of the world may still have their way out-scheming our defense.

 

I'm pretty disappointed that we didn't grab Justice or McNeill (especially since McNeill ended up in San Diego), so I really hope Howard turns out to be worth it. OLB was definitely a huge need and he sounds like the type of player we needed, it's just a matter if his ability is good enough.

 

Anyway, we are working through our needs, and no real reaches so far (unusual for us with our history of bad rd 2 picks). We still have plenty of needs so not everyone is going to be pleased. Personally I am really hoping for RB Maurice Drew, we really need a backup RB/3rd down RB/return man and he is all of those things, I think is going to be one hell of a player, and he's from Oakland to boot. I'm kinda hoping for OT Eric Winston as well, who I'm a little surprised to still see available, but it looks like OT isn't in the Raiders plans based on the guys we passed on in rd 2.

[Ignition Technition 0]

dammit the lambs took wroten ONE pick before us.

[whoisjgalt 0]

Who?

 

With Jean-Giles, Scott, and Watson available ...

[Ignition Technition 0]

a tackle for the 3rd rd , just described as a "poor mans logan mankins" by sirius