Raiders Todd Christensen Embodied the Silver and Black
Darren Waller is only the latest in a long line of outstanding tight ends to play for the Oakland-Los Angeles-Las Vegas Raiders.
It all started when Coach and General Manager Al Davis acquired former Heisman Trophy-winning running back Billy Cannon from the Houston Oilers in 1964. Davis moved Cannon to a tight end, where he helped revolutionize the position with his speed that became part of Davis’ vertical passing game.
Until then, tight ends had been mostly blockers and short-yardage receivers.
Hall of Famer Dave Casper, Raymond Chester, Zach Miller, Rickey Dudley, Jared Cook, Ethan Horton, Mychal Rivera, and Bob Moore all played the position for the Raiders, and in addition to being strong blockers, were downfield threats.
And how about Todd Christensen?
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Christensen leads all Raiders tight ends with 461 receptions for 5,872 yards in 41 touchdowns in his career, was a four-time All-Pro, played in five Pro Bowls, led the NFL in receptions twice, and played on two Super Bowl champions.
In eight postseason games, he caught 31 balls for 358 yards and a touchdown.
Yet, somehow, he is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“If you compare former Oakland/Los Angeles Raider Todd Christensen’s stats to the tight ends that are in the Hall of Fame, his numbers are as good as, and often better than, the inducted ones. Christensen was on two Super Bowl teams, he was the second TE ever to lead the league in total receptions (Kellen Winslow was first), and he was the first TE to ever have two seasons of 90 catches,” Matt Smith of Bleacher Report wrote.
That was in 2009, and Christensen still has not made it to Canton.
Christensen, who passed away at the age of 57 from complications during liver transplant surgery in 2013, was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round (No. 56 overall) of the 1978 NFL Draft as a running back out of BYU.
After brief stints with the Cowboys and New York Giants, he signed with the Raiders in 1979 and after playing mostly on special teams for three seasons, he reluctantly made the switch to tight end.
Christensen caught 42 passes for 510 yards and four touchdowns during the strike-shortened 1982 season but broke out the next season with 92 receptions for a career-high 1,247 yards and 12 touchdowns. He joined Winslow as the only tight ends to lead the NFL in receptions in a season.
“(Christensen) brought a lot to the table as a person and a personality, and also on the football field he could catch everything thrown his way, basically,” said his quarterback Jim Plunkett, who guided the Raiders offense to victories in Super Bowl XV and XVIII.
“He was a big, barrel-chested guy, and he had a knack for getting between the ball and the defender.”
Added Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen: “There was a stretch for us where, if there was a big catch that was made, Todd made it. He’d trap it with his body at high risk. He came down with the ball.”
Of course, Christensen is only one Silver and Black great that Raiders fans believe has been overlooked for Canton, including wide receiver Cliff Branch, safety Jack Tatum, cornerback Lester Hayes, linebacker Phil Villapiano, quarterback Daryle Lamonica, running back Clem Daniels, and wide receiver Art Powell.
Quarterback Kenny Stabler was on that list, too, until he was voted into the Hall of Fame after he passed away in 2015.
There are eight tight ends in the Hall of Fame, including Shannon Sharpe, who played the part of his career as a wide receiver. Christensen has more receptions and receiving yards than half of them and has more touchdown receptions than three of them.
“How did we forget Christensen?” NFL historian Jef Taylor asked. “He deserves to be enshrined in Canton.”
Raider Nation has agreed, for years.
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