In order to properly evaluate a draft class, one must wait at least three years. When evaluating a franchise, it takes an even broader scope. Therefore, I’d like to review the past decade of Raider drafts before we see Tom Cable off on his first trip to the war room.

When looking back at the last ten years of drafting, you will see a few patterns emerge.

The most glaring and obvious pattern relates to the number of defensive backs drafted. Since 1998, Al Davis has heard the commissioner call the names of six different defensive backs in round one alone.

Charles Woodson (1998, 4^th), Derrick Gibson (2001, 28^th), Phillip Buchanon (2002, 17^th), Nnamdi Asomugha (2003, 31^st), Fabien Washington (2005, 23^rd) and Michael Huff (2006, 7^th) account for nearly half of the last decade’s worth of first round picks. Asomugha and Huff are the only two still currently on the Raider roster. With the exception of Derrick Gibson, the rest of the defensive backs drafted are still in the NFL.

The Raiders have had 14 first round picks over the last 10 years. Of the 14, only 2 have made the year’s end trip to Hawaii to represent the AFC in the Pro Bowl. Surprise! Both are defensive backs: Charles Woodson and Nnamdi Asomugha.

Despite a long list of first round picks that have gone onto mediocre careers at best, the Raiders have been able to find talent in every other round of the draft.

The list of starters, contributors and players that have exceeded their draft status is outstanding: Jon Ritchie (1998, 63^rd), Eric Barton (1999, 146^th), Roderick Coleman (1999, 153^rd), Shane Lechler (2000, 142^nd), Ronald Curry (2002, 235^th), Justin Fargas (2003, 96^th), Jake Grove (2004, 45^th), Kirk Morrison (2005, 78^th), Thomas Howard (2006, 38^th), Johnnie Lee Higgins (2007, 99^th), Michael Bush (2007, 100^th) and Zach Miller (2007, 38^th).

Shane Lechler is the true gem of the past decade. The former Aggie from Texas A&M is, statistically, the NFL’s all-time greatest punter. The Raiders parlayed a 5^th round pick into a punter who is a four time Pro Bowler and has led the NFL in punting average four times in his career and only once has finished outside of the top three.

While most saw Sebastian Janikowski’s selection as 17^thoverall in 2000 as a mockery of the draft by selecting a kicker in round one, Janikowski has quietly lived up to the hype. Despite the occasional inconsistencies, it is hard to argue against a kicker who has become the all time leading scorer in the history of one of pro football’s most storied franchises. In 2008, Janikowski kicked a franchise best 57-yard field goal to defeat the New York Jets in overtime.

The last two drafts could prove to be the most pivotal if the Raiders are to reverse the last six years of misery. JaMarcus Russell (2007, 1^st) and Darren McFadden (2008, 4^th) are regarded as the future of the franchise. Russell is coming off his first year as a full-time starter and McFadden showed flashes of brilliance during his injury plagued rookie season.

Of the last 10 draft classes, 2007 is already looking like the cream of the crop. The Raiders had 11 picks in ’07 and used them all wisely as 6 of those picks started games for the Raiders in 2008.

Perhaps the worst draft was the 2001 class. Marques Tuiasosopo, a second round selection, was the only member of the class still on the roster in 2008. Of the rest of the members, 6^th round pick Chris Cooper is the only one to have played in more than 70 games in the NFL.

If Tom Cable has done his homework, he’s familiar will all of the above mentioned names. The Raiders have just five picks in ’09 and Cable will need to make each one count as there is long list of roster needs.

Most important of all is to make the first round count. Too many of the past 10 drafts have been littered with first round busts and disappointments. Cable and company need to select an player ready to contribute immediately in ’09.

Now that Samson Satele is searching for a home in the East Bay, it is time to take a look at what has been gained and lost in the trade that brought the Hawaiian center from South Beach to the Yay Area.

To begin, let’s examine the details of the trade.

The Raiders traded a sixth round pick and swapped picks in the fourth round with the Miami Dolphins for Satele. The Draft Value Chart reveals that the Raiders took a significant hit in swapping picks in the fourth round with Miami. The Raiders were to select 8^th in round 4 which carries a value of 86, whereas the newly acquired pick from Miami, which is currently 26^th in round 4, is valued at 50.

Of course, these values are relative to their position overall in the draft and could shift up or down in accordance with the addition of supplemental picks or the removal of picks from other franchises.

The loss of Oakland’s sixth round pick carries a value of 25. Not much lost there, however, the Raiders’ 5^th round pick belongs to the Atlanta Falcons due to the DeAngelo Hall acquisition, meaning the Raider draft is now limited to picks in rounds 1-4 and 7.

While the value chart is utilized by teams for trade evaluation, it means little in regards to a team’s ability to evaluate talent and unearth gems in the later rounds.

The Raiders had a definite need at center and would have turned to the draft had this trade not transpired.

Alex Mack of Cal Berkeley and Max Unger of Oregon are considered the top two prospects at center. Mack is expected to be a late first round selection, meaning Unger could be an early second round choice.

However you slice it, the Raiders would have been gambling on either Mack or Unger being available in round two for them since using the #7 overall to select a center was out of the question.

Therefore, losing the 6^th round pick and moving down in the 4^th would seem a logical trade off in acquiring a center that was originally a second round pick in 2007 and has started in every game of his two year career.

As far as trade value goes, the Raiders did well for themselves in opening their second round options for the purpose of filling immediate needs such as wide receiver, safety and defensive line, all depending on what they do in round one.

Next, the question must be asked, how does Satele fit into the system?

By all indications, Samson is a perfect fit for the zone blocking scheme which values agility and athleticism over size and strength for the offensive line.

Satele is listed as 6-3, 300 lbs, but it is believed that his playing weight is closer to 295. Samson is a pure athlete who ran an impressive 5.24 in 40 yard dash, did 25 reps on bench press and recorded a 33″ vertical at the NFL Draft Combine in 2007.

In addition, the former Hawaii Warrior played both guard positions and left tackle in college and has seen some time at guard in the NFL. He adds versatility and depth to the line, which is always a plus as injuries mount throughout the rigorous NFL schedule.

Another plus is that Satele played in a Miami offense that ran plays out of the “Wildcat formation” which is sure to be included in the Raider playbook in 2009. Having a center with a familiarity to these sets is a big advantage in helping to integrate a new player at such a key position. 

All things being considered, he is ideal for the Raider philosophy and Samson will only continue to grow under the tutelage of Jim Michalczik.

Finally, let’s take a look at why the Miami Dolphins were willing to part with the young center.

It would seem almost too good to be true that the Dolphins would deal a young talent who anchored a line that helped the Miami franchise to the greatest turnaround in NFL history.

Of course, the obvious reason is that the Dolphins had committed nearly $30 million to former Raider center Jake Grove.

The popular belief is that Dolphin Executive VP of Football Operations, Bill Parcells, desired a stronger center to deal with the nose tackles of the AFC East. Thus, Satele became expendable.

Simply put, Samson did not fit the Dolphin scheme. One man’s loss is another’s gain. Satele is a perfect fit for the Raiders and looks to be a fixture for years to come.

Overall, this is a shrewd personnel move by the Raider brass and grades out very well.

One last issue of note is that Satele is rehabbing a shoulder after having had surgery to repair a torn labrum muscle. While the status of his shoulder may give Raider fans pause, the silver lining in this gray cloud is that he played through the regular and post season with the injury.

Bottom line is that Samson Satele is tough guy who is a great acquisition for Tom Cable’s Raiders.

Welcome to the Nation Samson!

Various media outlets are reporting that the Oakland Raiders have traded an “undisclosed draft pick” to the Miami Dolphins for third year center Samson Satele.

Satele was selected in the second round of the draft by the Dolphins in 2007 and has started every game in his two years of professional football. The former Hawaii Warrior was a two time All-WAC first team selection and was a member of Pro Football Weekly’s All-Rookie team in 2007.

On first glance, this would appear to be a perfect fit for the Raiders and their zone blocking scheme. The Hawaii native is an athlete who was able to play left tackle and both guard positions during his college career before settling in as a center. In addition, Satele played in a Dolphin offense that utilized the now popular “Wildcat formation” which is sure to be a part of the Oakland playbook in 2009.

The Raider front office has continued to impress with a disciplined approach in the off-season, methodically filling out the roster with cautious spending and inspired personnel moves.

The irony, of course, is that former Raider center Jake Grove opted out of his contract in order to sign with the Dolphins. Now the Raiders have acquired the man that Grove replaced who, like Grove, wears #64. The initial thought was that Grove and Satele would compete for the starting job in Miami. Given the fact that Grove signed a 5-year deal worth nearly $30 million, it would appear that the South Beach brass had no intentions on seeing him on the bench. Miami is rolling the dice on the oft-injured Grove, while the Raiders are content to bring in a young talent to play in the middle of an upstart and promising offense.

With details of the trade still unknown, it is not possible to tell what value the Raiders placed on Satele, but this looks like a smart move. After last week’s pro day at Cal Berkeley, many began to speculate that the Raiders might actually use the #7 pick to select Alex Mack of the Golden Bears. Clearly, #7 was too high a value to place on Mack, or any center for that matter. However, it was not too far fetched to assume that the second round might be ideal to select a center. Now the indications are that wide receiver or possibly the defensive line are becoming the focus for the first round.

There are rumors that the Cleveland Browns are shopping Braylon Edwards, perhaps in hopes of selecting Texas Teach standout Michael Crabtree, leaving Al Davis to salivate over Missouri’s Jeremy Maclin.

The signing of former Jaguar tackle Khalif Barnes indicated that the Raiders were no longer looking at the bounty of left tackles in the 2009 draft. You can now cross off center on the Raider team needs list, but the safety position has now moved up a notch or two.

With the draft just over a month away, there is still plenty of time to fill other spots in need of immediate attention.  As of today, the Raiders have the look of a franchise poised to field a team capable of competing in an AFC West that was suddenly up for grabs in 2008.