Rod Martin rated the greatest draft steal in Oakland Raiders history

The Oakland Raiders have had their fair share of draft steals in team history, but Rod Martin from USC was recently ranked as the best ever.

With the 2019 NFL Draft only a few days away, it is always nice to take a trip down memory lane and think about some of the better draft hauls in Oakland Raiders history. Over the course of the history of the franchise, the Raiders have made some stunningly good picks, and some absolutely horrendous ones, but we will choose to focus on one that went right.

Doug Farrar put together a nice piece showing the greatest draft steal in the history of all 32 NFL teams recently, and it was certainly an interesting read. For the Raiders, the choice was Rod Martin, who the Raiders selected in the 12th round of the 1977 draft.

While Martin was a solid player for the duration of his NFL career, his biggest moment came on the biggest stage, when he nabbed three interceptions against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XV. He may have been considered undersized coming out of college, but he played big, and the Raiders were lucky to have him.

Martin played his entire 12-year career as a member of the Silver and Black, making it to two Pro Bowls, while being named a First-Team All-Pro back in 1984. He appeared in 165 games, making 147 starts, and finished his career with 14 interceptions, which is tied for 21st in team history.

Of course, for every Martin the Raiders hit a home run, there are the Jamarcus Russells, as the NFL Draft is the ultimate crap shoot. Oakland has three first round picks on Thursday night, and could find a gem with any one of them, or all three, but we will have to wait and see.