Countdown to 2020: Best Raiders player to wear No. 90
Countdown to 2020: Best Raiders player to wear No. 90
Grady Jackson (1997-2001)
Grady Jackson might be one of the biggest draft steals in NFL history as the sixth round pick out of little known HBCU Knoxville College spent a decade and a half in the league and at his peak was one of the better defensive tackles in the league.
After the Raiders took a flyer on him it took Jackson a few years to get acclimated to the NFL and he played in just 5 games his rookie season. He became a rotation player in 1998 and 1999 and in his final two years with the team from 2000 to 2001 became a full-time starter and helped lead the playoff push which ended in heartbreaking fashion.
In five years with the Raiders, Jackson racked up 19 sacks, 216 tackles, and a very impressive 39 tackles for loss. Jackson is 19th in franchise history in sacks and is fifth in tackles for loss since that has become an official NFL statistic. His best year came in 2000 as he totaled 69 tackles and career highs in sacks and tackles for loss with 8 and 15, respectively.
Jackson would go on to play for the Packers, Lions, Falcons, Saints, and Jaguars but was never as effective as he was in Silver and Black. However the fact that he had such a long career in a league that is notoriously unforgiving on players in the trenches is a testament to his talent.