The Oakland Raiders have not had too much luck at the top of the draft over the past few years, but believe it or not, the team has done better in the later rounds and they may have avoided one huge mistake in 2010, as they passed over Florida Gators tight end Aaron Hernandez in the fourth round.
According to ESPN.com, the Raiders had multiple selections in the fourth round of the draft and despite the talented Gators tight end dropping due to some character issues, the (usually no problem with character issues) Oakland decided to take Bruce Campbell at guard with the 106th pick and Jacoby Ford with the 108th pick. The team passed over him twice, while the San Diego Chargers also passed him over for Darrell Stuckey with the 110th pick before Hernandez was selected at 113 to the Patriots.
Campbell impressed the Raiders at the combine and although he was traded to Carolina for Mike Goodson, he was a solid player for Oakland. Ford has continued to show potential and this year Reggie McKenzie is looking for him to step up into more of a starting role. Ford impressed the Raiders with his speed at the combine and he has brought that to the NFL, as he has shown great skills as a kick returner and is one of the fastest in the league. The biggest problem for Ford is staying healthy and the team hopes he can do that this season alongside Denarius Moore and rookie Brice Butler as well as Rod Streater.
Hernandez at the time looked like a steal and over the past three years he has been better than any of those three players, but now it all looks different after his murder charges. The Raiders have had some criminal issues in the past, but this is the most serious case for the NFL in a number of years and now the Patriots, who have long been looked at as a franchise that does not make these mistakes, is stuck right in the middle of it all.
The Pats released Hernandez after he was arrested despite giving him a $40 million contract and now the team will move on with Jake Ballard and Rob Gronkowski as he returns from injury. This year the Raiders selected Nick Kasa at tight end in the draft and last season they got tons of production from Brandon Myers, as he led the team in receiving. The Raiders are expecting improvement after going 4-12, as they traded for Matt Flynn at quarterback and also signed Charles Woodson, Tracy Porter, Mike Jenkins, Kevin Burnett and Nick Roach as well.
