Las Vegas Raiders: 15 best defensive backs of all-time
By John Buhler
. CB. (1965-70). Kent McCloughan. 12. player. 28
- AFL Champion (1967)
- 2x All-AFL (1966-67)
- 2x AFL All-Star (1966-76)
- 15 career interceptions for 96 yards in 67 games
We have finally arrived at our first Raider that had spent more than half a decade with the team. Though we appreciate Ronnie Lott, Tommy Morrow, and Rod Woodson’s contributions to the team, cornerback Kent McCloughan was not just a great player for the Raiders, but an instrumental one at that in the Oakland secondary.
After a brilliant collegiate career at the University of Nebraska, McCloughan was an 11th-round pick by the then Houston Oilers in the 1965 AFL Draft. However, he would never play for Houston, only Oakland in his six-year professional career.
McCloughan was a capable ballhawk but made his name in professional football for both his fantastic foot speed, as well as his ability to be aggressive up on the line of scrimmage. Along with Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback Willie Brown, who we’ll get to in a bit, they helped solidify the ever-common bump and run coverage for defensive backs.
It was a savvy defensive philosophy Al Davis first brought to the AFL gridiron in the mid-1960s. Being able to win out on the perimeter with high-end athletes like Brown and McCloughan made it very easy for the Raiders to be one of the more dominant teams in the AFL.
In year two in the league, McCloughan had his breakout campaign. He had four interceptions for 62 yards, playing in all 14 games that year, as he would be named to the AFL All-Star Game and earn All-League honors for the first times in his career.
McCloughan backed that great 1966 campaign with another terrific year in 1967. During his third AFL season in 1967, McCloughan had two interceptions for seven yards. The Raiders would win the AFL Championship for the first time, but ultimately fell to Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers in what is now known as Super Bowl II.
Unfortunately after that 1967 AFL season, where McCloughan made the AFL All-Star Team again and his second All-League squad, the injuries would start to mount. He only appeared in 12 games during the 1968 and 1969 AFL seasons combined. He would play 13 games for the 1970 Raiders, notching a career-high five interceptions before a knee injury forced early retirement at age 30.
Though he only had 15 career interceptions for 96 yards in 67 games, McCloughan’s football legacy is a strong one, both with the Raiders and throughout the NFL. His son Dave McCloughan played four years in the NFL in the 1990s as a defensive back.
You might have heard of McCloughan’s other son Scot McCloughan, who is the former general manager of both the San Francisco 49ers and the Washington Redskins.