Las Vegas Raiders: 15 best first-round picks all-time
By John Buhler
. Free Safety. Ohio State Buckeyes, 1971. Jack Tatum. 7. player. 28
Best first-round draft picks in Raiders history: 7. Jack Tatum
Free safety Jack Tatum was one of the most feared safeties in NFL history. Known as The Assassin for his punishing hits in the middle of the field, Tatum didn’t let a receiver come across the hash marks without letting them know he meant business. While most of those hits of his are outlawed in today’s game, that was a different time and Tatum thrived in his era.
Tatum is a College Football Hall of Famer out of Ohio State as one of the best secondary players in the history of the Big Ten. He would go No. 19 overall to the Raiders in the 1971 NFL Draft after his second consensus All-American season with the Buckeyes.
With the Raiders, Tatum would play nine seasons in the Bay Area, making three straight Pro Bowls from 1975 to 1977. He would be an important piece of the 1976 team that won Super Bowl XI over the Minnesota Vikings.
Tatum would play one more year with the 1980 Houston Oilers before retiring. He played in and started 120 games for the Silver and Black. Tatum finished his career with 37 interceptions and 10 forced fumbles. He struggled with health issues late in life, passing away from a heart attack in 2010 at age 61 in Oakland.