After Further Review: In the end, it’s Schilens
The Raiders wrap up their shortest draft ever with another receiver
April 27, 2008
By Eric “Ace” Strauss, Raiderfans.net Staff Columnist
NEW YORK — With the last of the team’s five picks, the Raiders went receiver one more time, choosing
Chaz Schilens of San Diego State in today’s seventh round.
The Raiders used less than a minute and a half of their allotted five minutes, before (apparently) calling it a weekend.
Schilens, the second Aztec receiver taken in the round, after Brett Swain went to Green Bay, checks in at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, but runs a subpar 4.7 40-yard dash.
He was a three-year starter, according to the San Diego State website, catching passes from Kevin O’Connell, who was chosen in the third round by New England. He caught 35 balls in only eight games as a senior, after 34 in 12 games in both 2006 and 2005.
That 226th overall pick was acquired from the hometown New York Jets, and originally belonged to Minnesota.
The Raiders traded their own seventh-round pick, No. 213, to the Dallas Cowboys to move up in the fourth round and take defensive back
Tyvon Branch of Connecticut. That pick wound up with Jacksonville, who selected USC running back Chauncey Washington.
A final random musing: Say this for ex-Raider Matt Millen, Detroit’s embattled general manager: He knows how to please a crowd. Millen took Army strong safety Caleb Campbell in the seventh round with his final pick of the year — and maybe ever, if Detroit fans have their way — drawing cheers and chants of “Ca-leb Camp-bell” and “U-S-A!” from the crowd at Radio City Music Hall. Campbell, in uniform, was at the draft and appeared on both the ESPN and NFL Network sets. A true feel-good pick. Best wishes to the young Lion — and patriot!
Writer’s note: With the Raiders making their last scheduled pick, I’m going to try to beat the traffic and hope to heck the Raiders don’t deal for one of the dozen or so remaining trade-eligible seventh-rounders — which may be a risk, since this draft set a record for most trades. If they do, check back for an update later! ~ Ace