Raiders draft woes helped lead to team getting No. 1 pick

ALAMEDA, Calif. – Getting the No. 1 selection in the NFL draft usually means a team hasn’t picked well in previous years. That’s half true with the Oakland Raiders.\nWhile owner Al Davis’ team has done fairly well selecting defensive players in recent years, it’s been nearly two decades since the Raiders have drafted a player who turned into an offensive star.\n“I don’t think Al Davis has forgotten what a good football player is,” draft analyst Mike Mayock said. “They have drafted very well on the defensive side of the ball. The bottom line is that some of their offensive picks have not panned out. They need to get better in a hurry on the offensive side.”\nWith two talented quarterbacks in LSU’s JaMarcus Russell and Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn and one of the top-rated receivers ever to come out of college in Georgia Tech’s Calvin Johnson available, the Raiders hope to remedy that situation later this month.\nAssuming Oakland keeps the top pick and uses it on one of those players, it would mark the first time since taking tight end Ricky Dudley in 1996 that the Raiders used a first-round pick on a skill position player.\nOf Oakland’s 13 first-round picks since then, there have been six defensive backs, three offensive lineman, two defensive lineman, a linebacker and even a kicker.\n“It’s no secret what Al Davis likes. He likes big guys who can run fast on either side of the football,” Mayock said. “Last year, they had the opportunity to draft a quarterback with Matt Leinart and Jay Cutler and went with Michael Huff instead.”\nWhile Leinart and Cutler were starting by the end of the season and appeared to be far ahead of Oakland’s second-year quarterback Andrew Walter, Huff had problems making the transition to the NFL.\nDavis said the decision to take Huff instead of a quarterback was made by former coach Art Shell. But few who follow the Raiders closely believe any pick is made without Davis’ approval.\nBilled as a playmaker in the secondary, Huff had no sacks, no interceptions and no fumble recoveries as a rookie. Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan has said he thinks Huff could have a breakthrough year in 2007 similar to the way 2003 first-round pick cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha did last season.\nAsomugha and Huff were among the eight starters on the NFL’s third-ranked defense that came from the draft. Oakland’s entire back seven is homegrown, and the team has done well in getting middle linebacker Kirk Morrison in the third round in 2005, outside linebacker Thomas Howard in the second round last season, and using first-round picks on starting cornerbacks Asomugha and Fabian Washington.