After Further Review: Goodbye, Fabian; hello, rookie
or, Oakland gives up on another first-rounder
April 27, 2008
By Eric “Ace” Strauss, Raiderfans.net Staff Columnist
NEW YORK — The Oakland Raiders have invested an awful lot of high draft picks in the defensive backfield in the past decade or so.
They’ve paid about as much in the way of dividends as your average recession-plagued mutual fund.
The Raiders gave up on another first-round defensive back today, trading cornerback Fabian Washington, the team’s top pick in 2005, to the Baltimore Ravens for a fourth-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, the 125th overall.
Washington moved into the starting lineup as a rookie, but lost his job as the left cornerback opposite
Nnamdi Asomugha early in the 2007 season. Stanford Routt — the second-round pick from the same class — started for the rest of Lane Kiffin’s first year, but he appears to have lost the job this offseason after the trade for DeAngelo Hall.
The corner from Nebraska snagged four interceptions as a second-year starter, and after a top training camp last year, appeared poised for a breakout year akin to Asomugha’s in 2006. Instead, he was benched after the second game, getting only one more start all year.
The Raiders traded up to get Washington in 2005, landing a replacement for another first-round disappointment, Phillip “Showtime” Buchanon, who they traded during that same draft week.
The trade came just a few minutes after the Raiders selected defensive back
Tyvon Branch at the top of the fourth round.
Recent Raiders first-round defensive backs:
• 1998: Charles Woodson, cornerback, Michigan — left as free agent in 2006
• 2001: Derrick Gibson, safety, Florida State — not re-signed as free agent in 2007
• 2002: Phillip Buchanon, cornerback, Miami — traded in 2005
• 2003:
Nnamdi Asomugha, corner/safety, California
• 2005: Fabian Washington, cornerback, Nebraska — traded today
• 2006: Michael Huff, safety, Texas
After Further Review: Goodbye, Fabian; hello, rookie
