Where the Raiders' 2022 Draft Ranks

Even without a selection until the third round, the Las Vegas Raiders received some high grades for their six picks in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN gave the Raiders a grade of “B” for their first draft under General Manager Dave Ziegler, Coach Josh McDaniels and the rest of the new personnel staff in the organization.

“I said on the broadcast that guard/center Dylan Parham (chosen in round three) could be a Pro Bowler,” said Kiper, who is considered one of the top judges of talent in the business. “He started 51 games at Memphis, playing right tackle and guard. He’ll be even better inside, and the Raiders got him about 30 picks later than I projected him to go.

“I had a Round 4 grade on Matthew Butler (No. 175), who will have a long NFL career, even if it’s just as a rotational defensive tackle. They added Neil Farrell Jr. (No. 126) at D-tackle too, but at 330 pounds, he is more of a traditional nose. Thayer Munford (No. 238) started 45 games on the O-line at Ohio State and could be a solid backup.”

It takes several seasons for a draft class to be completely evaluated for its overall strength, and hopefully, the 2022 group one day will be rated favorably among these great Raiders draft years:

1968—Second round, quarterback Kenny Stabler, Alabama; third round, tackle Art Shell, Maryland State; fourth round, running back Charlie Smith, Utah, seventh-round; defensive back George Atkinson, Morris Brown; 11th round, fullback Marv Hubbard, Colgate.

“The 1968 (Raiders) draft stands alone with four players who made a massive contribution to the Silver and Black in every way,” David Wilson of Bleacher Report wrote. “Stabler and Shell were as good as any who played those positions during their time in Oakland, Atkinson and Hubbard were high quality players in their own right.”

Stabler and Shell are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and along with Atkinson played key roles as the Silver and Black won Super Bowl XI at the end of the 1976 season. Hubbard is fifth on the franchise’s all-time rushing list with 4,394 yards and scored 22 touchdowns in seven seasons, playing in three Pro Bowls. Smith, who played at Castlemont High in Oakland, scored the winning touchdown in the famed “Heidi Game,” while Atkinson was part of the “Soul Patrol” secondary and had 30 career interceptions in addition to returning three punts for touchdowns in his career.

1977—Second round, safety Mike Davis, Colorado; fourth round, guard Mickey Marvin, Tennessee; fifth round, cornerback Lester Hayes, Texas A&M; fifth round, linebacker Jeff Barnes, California; 12th round, linebacker Rod Martin, USC.

Martin might be the best 12th-round pick in NFL history, making a record three interceptions as the Raiders won Super Bowl XV, returning four picks for touchdowns in his career and playing in two Pro Bowls. Hayes is tied with Hall of Famer Willie Brown for the most interceptions in Raiders’ franchise history with 39, and many people believe “Lester the Molester” should also be in the HOF. Marvin started for nine seasons, playing in two Super Bowls, while Davis made the game-saving interceptions in the final minute of the “Mistake By The Lake” game at Cleveland in a playoff game during the 1980 season.

1971—First round, safety Jack Tatum, Ohio State; second round, linebacker Phil Villapiano, Bowling Green; fourth round, running back Clarence Davis, USC; fifth round, tight end Bob Moore, Stanford; 12th-round, defensive end Horace Jones, Louisville.

Tatum, Villapiano, and Davis all played key roles when the Raiders trounced the Minnesota Vikings, 32-14, over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI. One of the hardest-hitting defenders in NFL history and a three-time Pro Bowl selection, Tatum terrorized the Vikings receivers, especially Sammy White. He had 30 interceptions in his career. Villapiano, who played in four Pro Bowls, make six unassisted tackles against Minnesota, including one as the Vikings seemed about to score in the first quarter, turning the game in the Raiders’ favor as fellow linebacker Willie Hall recovered on the two-yard-line. Davis led all rushers with 139 yards in that game and gained 3,640 yards in eight seasons, and caught the game-winning touchdown pass from Stabler in the famed “Sea of Hands” game to defeat the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Miami Dolphins in the 1974 AFC playoffs. Jones made 37½ sacks in five seasons, including 13 in 1975, before sustaining an injury that virtually ended his career. Moore had 91 receptions for 981 yards and seven touchdowns in five seasons, but after starting for three years, future Hall of Fame tight end Dave Casper came along and took his job.

In addition, 1972, 1982, 1983, 1988, 2000, and 2014 also were very good draft years for the Raiders and those classes make the honorable mention list, and some people might argue that a couple of them belong in the top three.

Raider Nation hopes that in a few years, the NFL Draft class of 2022 will at least be in the conversation with the better draft classes in franchise history.

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