The Las Vegas Raiders had the chance to select quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the 2004 NFL Draft. Instead, the Silver and Black went with Fabian Washington. 16 years later, they get a chance to do it over.
Raiders insider Paul Gutierrez chose current Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers with his first pick in ESPN’s re-do. Then, he picked EDGE Von Miller in the second round. Third, he got the second most elusive running back in the NFL. Finally, he went with Henry Ruggs III to form a dynamic duo alongside Jacobs. All in all, Gutierrez had a conjunction of youth and veteran talent:
- Round 1 (12), Aaron Rodgers
- Round 2 (53), Von Miller
- Round 3 (76), Josh Jacobs
- Round 4 (117), Henry Ruggs III
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The Reasoning Behind the Picks
Regarding his selections, Gutierrez argues that it was difficult to pass up on Rodgers’ Hall-of-Fame resume, and Miller’s veteran leadership. “Let’s make right what once went wrong, shall we? The Raiders coulda, shoulda, woulda drafted Rodgers way back in 2005 but went with speedy cornerback Fabian Washington instead. Now, a grizzled vet and a future Hall of Famer, Rodgers has a massive chip on his shoulder. The Packers drafted Jordan Love to be his replacement, and Jon Gruden loves vets with chips — and ‘ships. Miller is a veteran presence on defense who has terrorized the Raiders for nine years, checks another box.”
The whole exercise is worth a look as we can see what NFL insiders and writers think of the league’s current players. The Raiders didn’t see many of their players get drafted. As Josh Dubow of the Associated Press pointed out, Derek Carr was the 28th quarterback selected. Likewise, Maxx Crosby was the only other player that had his name called in ESPN’s re-do besides Carr, Jacobs, and Ruggs.
Had the draft gone on for one more round, tight end Darren Waller might’ve made the cut. The same goes for Rodney Hudson. No center was chosen and he had a chance to be the first one gone.
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