After Further Review: Worth a Washington
or, Oakland chooses a receiver with a pick acquired by trade
April 27, 2008
By Eric “Ace” Strauss, Raiderfans.net Staff Columnist
NEW YORK — The Raiders had only five draft picks going into the weekend. They still have only five picks, but after some wheeling and dealing today, Oakland wound up with two fourth-rounders instead of two sevenths.
With the second of those picks, the Raiders found 2007 top pick
JaMarcus Russell another weapon, choosing Richmond wideout
Arman Shields.
Earlier in the round, the Raiders dealt their seventh-round pick to the Dallas Cowboys to move up from 104th to 100th — the first pick of the fourth round — and select defensive back
Tyvon Branch of Connecticut.
That enabled them to trade disappointing 2005 first-rounder Fabian Washington, who lost his starting job at cornerback last season, to Baltimore for the 125th overall pick, 27th in the fourth round.
That was the pick they used for Shields, who missed most of his senior season with a torn knee ligament, but “performed incredibly well in Combine testing,” according to Pro Football Weekly, “finishing at the top of the WR group in most agility drills.”
Shields caught only 14 balls as a senior, but broke the 50-catch mark as a starter in both 2005 and 2006 after snagging 30 passes as a redshirt freshman.
Despite the PCL tear and an injury that cut short his 2006 season, Shields’ toughness was lauded by The Sporting News, which also said he “has outstanding hands and runs good routes.” TSN gave him only a sixth-round grade, however.
PFW also praised his toughness, as well as “big-play explosiveness.”
Ourlads’ Scouting Services called him an “outstanding athlete,” but nonetheless gave him a seventh-round/free agent grade.
The Raiders still have their own sixth-round pick remaining, the 169th overall, plus the Minnesota Vikings’ seventh-rounder, 226th, acquired from the New York Jets.
The Raiders traded their second-round pick to Atlanta this offseason as part of the DeAngelo Hall deal, their third-rounder to New England during last year’s draft and their fifth-rounder to Denver for
Gerard Warren during 2007’s training camp.
So far this weekend, the Raiders have chosen:
• Darren McFadden, running back, Arkansas, first round (4th overall)
•
Tyvon Branch, defensive back, Connecticut, fourth round (100th overall)
•
Arman Shields, wide receiver, Richmond, fourth round (125th overall)
After Further Review: Worth a Washington
Special thanks to Nexx
