As the Oakland Raiders are studying and interviewing players at the NFL Combine in anticipation of the 2018 draft, this much is clear – they need immediate help from this draft, something they didn’t get from the 2017 draft class. Oakland had terrible luck when it came to the draft and health last season. Oakland
Who the Raiders could have taken other than Gareon Conley
Hindsight is always 20-20
Even after 80 years of the NFL draft, with all the attention and analytics, the Draft is still a crapshoot.
From MMQB, 1936 Commissioner Bert Bell son, Upton Bell,
As Bell notes, even back then without today’s encyclopedic draft content, there were teams drafting with startlingly good results. Seven of the 81 players taken that year made a Pro Bowl; four—Joe Stydahar, Tuffy Leemans, Wayne Millner and Dan Fortmann—were elected into the Hall of Fame. And that’s without Jay Berwanger, the first Heisman Trophy winner and arguably the most talented player in the class, who never played a single down of professional football (he balked at the salary, tried out for the Olympics and worked at a rubber factory in Chicago). Two players drafted in the first 13 the following year—Sammy Baugh and Ace Parker—both were enshrined in Canton.
“Go look at the drafts from the first in ’36 to today,” Bell said. “Back then, they spent no money. Today, they spend millions. How much different in success rate is it? I’m betting it ain’t far off.”
Conley will prove to be a steal, no brainer pick! Can’t predict injuries.
My pick was Tre White. Still is.
But we picked who we picked. And I hope he has a HOF career for us!
We have 11 picks and at least 2 extra rookies this year in Conley and Melifonwu. Neither had enough playing time to call themselves anything but rookies.
I have a feeling that Conley will be alright. Last year will be seen as a fluke. Melifonwu could be another story. Not sure what to make of him.