Oakland Raiders 2004 Draft
Report Card
By Chris Catania, NFL
Correspondent
(Sports Network) - Heading into
the draft the Raiders were the source of more speculation than any
team. Were they looking to move down? Were they set on Roy
Williams or would they take Robert Gallery despite a desperate
need for a deep receiving threat? It was all much adieu about
nothing. If you've watched the Raiders at any point in the last 40
years, you know the guy calling the shots always wants big people
along both lines. Sure, he loves speed, but he loves late speed --
project speed, Cliff Branch, James Jett.
Al Davis wasn't tipping his hand,
but the only other time the Raiders picked as high as second was
in 1997 and he traded up to the second spot in a bid to take
Orlando Pace. That was foiled when the Jets traded with the Rams,
who took Pace leaving the Raiders with Darrell Russell. Think
Oakland would have liked to have taken Walter Jones instead?
Gallery was a no-brainer pick if
he's as good as everyone seems to think. If he's on a par with
Pace, Jones and Jonathan Ogden, then the Raiders made a great
decision regardless of how many passes the top receivers catch or
touchdowns thrown by the top quarterbacks. Gallery seems ready to
live up to the hype. He's huge, but has room to pack on some more
pounds. More importantly he's a former tight end and has stellar
footwork, a top trait for the elephant dancing he'll be called to
do as the Raiders' left tackle.
"In high school, he high
jumped 6-feet-5, which is hard to imagine," Oakland coach
Norv Turner said. "He's a complete player. He can run. He's a
very good pass protector. He's a very good run blocker. If you can
be confident in your left tackle and you don't go into every game
having to help him in different situations, take care of him, it
gives you a chance to do a lot more things offensively. Obviously,
having a guy that everybody has great confidence in is a big
thing."
Besides his own skill, part of
the reason for that confidence is his Iowa pedigree. Gallery was
well coached by Kirk Ferentz, a former NFL assistant whose program
turned out ready-from-day-one starter Eric Steinbach for the
Bengals last year.
Gallery's addition allows the
Raiders flexibility on the line. When they went to the Super Bowl
after the 2002 season it was because of a dominating line. Last
year's collapse had many origins but injuries on the line and the
inability to handle edge rushers were near the top of the list of
things gone wrong.
With Gallery at left tackle, the
versatile Barry Sims, who has played every position on the line
except center, could start on the right side if Langston Walker
isn't ready for starting duty, or he could back up both tackle
spots.
The Raiders fortified themselves
at guard during free agency and added the top center in the draft
on day one. Jake Grove plays with a nasty streak that will be much
appreciated by Oakland fans and coaches. Center Barret Robbins won
back the respect of his teammates last year and played well, but a
knee injury limited him and raises questions about his future with
the team.
"The surgery Barret had is a
very unique surgery," Turner added. "It's unusual, so
how he comes back and how long it takes him is certainly unknown.
That may have weighed in this. But I really believe that [Grove]
is just an outstanding football player. And it was just something
we felt that we had to do."
The Raiders finished a stellar
first day by taking safety Stuart Schweigert. He has second-round
talent but dropped because of several alcohol-related problems in
college, including a DUI.
Coming off their Super Bowl
appearance the Raiders drafted athletes with potential. This year,
Oakland used all three first-day picks on football players with
long track records of performance in college.
The Raiders are still in
desperate need of a reliable deep threat, but that will have to
wait. It is unlikely, even at 42 and 38 respectively, that Jerry
Rice or Tim Brown will be forced off the roster by Davis if they
want to play one more season.
Day two brought wideout Carlos
Francis, giving the Raiders the fastest player at the Combine for
the second straight year. They hope he'll have more of an impact
than running back Justin Fargas did last year after running the
fastest 40 at Indianapolis. The Raiders also added the physically
gifted Johnnie Morant in round five leaving six receivers for
three jobs if Brown and Rice join Jerry Porter at wide receiver.
Oakland has had some success with
late-round picks on defense lately and may have found a pair that
can play in round six. The Raiders traded two seventh-rounders to
draft linebacker Cody Spencer. With more 3-4 looks planned for the
upcoming season, the numbers favor Spencer or this year's
"Mr. Irrelevant" -- Andre Sommersell -- landing a job.
Sixth-round defensive end Shawn
Johnson is a long shot to make the team, but he was a productive
pass rusher at Duke before transferring to Delaware. The Raiders
needed edge rushers.
2004 Draft Picks: (1st round-2nd
overall) OT-Robert Gallery, Iowa; (2-45) C- Jake Grove, Virginia
Tech; (3-67) S-Stuart Schweigert, Purdue; (4-99) WR- Carlos
Francis, Texas Tech; (5-134) WR-Johnnie Morant, Syracuse; (6-166)
DE- Shawn Johnson, Delaware; (6-182) ILB-Cody Spencer, North
Texas; (7-245) TE- Courtney Anderson, San Jose State; (7-255)
LB-Andre Sommersell, Colorado State.
Sports Network Draft Grade: A
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