We recently tried to rank the greatest players ever in Las Vegas Raiders history—as you can imagine, there was much debate on social media surrounding our list. In this next installment of “Raiders Explained,” we will look at the eight greatest players on offense.
The Raiders have historically had some special individuals on offense…
It’s fascinating to reflect on the history of the Silver and Black. Over the years, they’ve had Hall of Famers at nearly every position, but they’ve also had players who might be considered “fringe” in terms of eligibility for induction into Canton. However, if you ask any Raiders fan, they’ll tell you that there are players deserving of enshrinement who will likely never get that opportunity, yet they continue to live on in team lore.
One observation while attempting to narrow it down to just eight players was the challenge of weighing the importance of a position player against, for instance, an offensive lineman. In fact, if you prioritize the offensive line above all else, half of the list could consist of such players—Gene Upshaw, Art Shell, Jim Otto, etc. So, there’s that to consider.
Of course, I did my best to balance that out, but you also need to consider the era in which many of these players competed. Imagine if Tim Brown had a great quarterback throughout his entire career. In that case, we might be discussing him as the greatest receiver ever—at least in theory. We’d love to hear your thoughts!
*Top Photo: Ramble Illustration/Getty Images