Five best draft picks in Raiders history

Yesterday, some of the greatest miscues in Las Vegas Raiders drafting history were discussed, digging up unpleasant memories of JaMarcus Russell and the like.

However, with such a storied franchise, the Raiders have also drafted true legends of the game. Some of these players built a dynasty in Oakland and Los Angeles, while others worked tirelessly to restore such glory to the Silver and Black. With last year’s pick of Brock Bowers looking like a home run, it is clear the team is capable of continuing to find diamonds through the draft.

Here are five of the greatest draft picks from the Raiders’ storied history:

5. RB Marcus Allen (10th overall, 1982)

The Raiders did not know it at the time, but drafting Allen meant drafting the best running back in franchise history.

Coming out of USC in 1982, Allen emerged as one of the best running backs in NCAA history. In 1981, Allen became only the second player at the time to run for over 2,000 yards in a single season, and his performance lead to him winning the Heisman Trophy that year. While that did not guarantee success at the NFL level, Allen took over Los Angeles by storm.

Allen dominated the league with the Raiders, appearing in six Pro Bowls and earning first-team All-Pro honors twice. Allen also won the award for league MVP in 1985, as well as Super Bowl MVP of Super Bowl XVIII in 1984. He left the Raiders for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1993, but he remains the organization’s all-time rushing leader to this day with 8,545 rushing yards and 79 touchdowns.

Allen was rightfully inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003.

4. DE Howie Long (48th overall, 1981)

Despite being a second-round pick out of a small-school football program in Villanova, Long ended up as a Raiders legend.

With the Villanova Wildcats, Long lead the team twice in sacks during his four-year collegiate career. He even made national noise from the small stage, earning an honorable mention for All-American honors during his senior year in 1980. That was enough for the Raiders to take a chance on him, and it turned into one of the best decisions the team ever made.

Playing all 13 seasons of his career with the Raiders, Long appeared in eight Pro Bowls and earned All-Pro honors in 1984 and 1985. He was a major factor in helping the Raiders win Super Bowl XVIII, and his 91.5 sacks are second-most all-time in franchise history (Greg Townsend has 107.5). When Long retired in 1993, he was the last Raider at the time to make the move from Oakland to Los Angeles.

Long was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000, and he is now a fixture of Fox’s NFL programming.

3. WR Tim Brown (sixth overall, 1988)

A true testament of longevity, Tim Brown was one of the quintessential Raiders of the 1990s.

One of the best players for Notre Dame, Brown made history by becoming the first wide receiver to win the Heisman Trophy in 1987. He also earned first-team All-American honors in 1986-87, and held multiple school record for the Fighting Irish by the time he turned pro. Although it took some time for Brown to get going at the professional level, his peak put him into the Raiders’ record books.

Brown earned Pro Bowl honors nine times during his 17-year playing career, all but his final year in 2004 being with the Raiders. He recorded nine straight 1,000-yard seasons from 1993-2001, cementing himself as one of the best receivers of the decade. Brown does not only hold the Raiders franchise records for receiving yards (14,934) and receptions (1,094), but he currently ranks seventh in NFL history in both categories.

The logjam of elite receivers at the time meant Brown had to wait for his Hall of Fame induction, but he finally received his gold jacket in 2015.

2. QB Ken Stabler (52nd overall, 1968)

Stabler was a major reason why the Raiders were such a feared team in the 1970s.

Coming out of Alabama, Stabler did not quite enjoy similar collegiate success as the other players so far on this list. He did win first-team All-American honors in 1967, however, and his “Run in the Mud” game-winning scramble in that year’s Iron Bowl against Auburn cemented him as a school legend. While Stabler would cut back on the scrambling in the pros, the development of his game made him one of the NFL’s most versatile passers.

Throwing the ball to elite weapons such as Cliff Branch, Fred Biletnikoff and Dave Casper, Stabler went on to appear in four Pro Bowls and was named MVP in 1974. In 1977, he was instrumental in the Raiders defeating the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI, marking the franchise’s first-ever Super Bowl victory. The only quarterback in Raiders history with more than Stabler’s 19,078 passing yards and 150 touchdowns is Derek Carr.

Stabler unfortunately passed away in 2015, and he was posthumously inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame the following year.

1. CB Charles Woodson (fourth overall, 1998)

In a 1998 draft class more remembered for the debate between quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf, Woodson stayed under the radar and turned into one of the best players in the class.

Woodson was the most feared defensive back in the nation at the University of Michigan, proving it with a tremendous 1997 campaign. That year, Woodson bested the aforementioned Manning for the Heisman Trophy, becoming the first defensive player in history to win the award and the only one until Colorado’s Travis Hunter won it in 2024. Along with a slew of other awards, the Raiders likely could not believe their luck that such a talent was available fourth overall.

Woodson would play 11 seasons with the Raiders, winning Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1998. Woodson would also go on to dominate with the Green Bay Packers, winning Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2009 and rallying his team to victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV in 2011. By the time he retired with the Raiders, Woodson was one of only three players in NFL history to score 13 defensive touchdowns, proving his status as one of the all-time great shutdown cornerbacks and defensive playmakers.

Woodson was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2021.