Raiders Traded Two No. 1 Picks for LB Hendricks
The Las Vegas Raiders have the 13th overall pick in the 2024 National Football League Draft. Still, there has been plenty of speculation that they will trade up to select one of several talented quarterbacks available.
However, that isn’t the only option.
The Raiders could trade their No. 1 pick for a proven veteran who could step right in and make a difference for the Silver and Black on either side of the ball, something that has happened in the past.
Longtime fans of Raider Nation remember that in 1975, Managing General Partner Al Davis traded not one but two first-round draft choices to the Green Bay Packers for All-Pro linebacker Ted Hendricks, who made an impact as soon as he arrived in Oakland.
“That was another one of the great trades that Al made,” Raiders Hall of Fame Coach John Madden recalled a few years ago. “Not only was Hendricks a great player, but he complemented the other outstanding defensive players that we had.
“Teams would try to run at him, but Hendricks would shut them down, so then they tried going the other way, but Phil Villapiano was the linebacker on that side and he was a great tackler who made plays all over the field.
Antonio Pierce envisions returning the Las Vegas Raiders to their glorious defensive dominant past.
© Manny Rubio | 1981 Jan 25
“Hendricks made our defense so much better, not only because of what he did, but because of what him being there meant to the rest of the guys.”
The 6-foot-7, 220-pound Hendricks was a second-round draft pick (No. 33 overall) in the NFL Draft out of Miami (Fla.) by the Baltimore Colts in 1969 after being a three-time All-American, and played four seasons with the Colts and one with the Packers before spending the last nine years of his career with the Raiders.
Although tackling statistics are incomplete for those years, we know that Hendricks had at least 363 tackles and 60½ sacks while blocking an NFL record 27 kicks, having 26 interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown, recovering 16 fumbles, one of which was returned for a score, and making four tackles for safeties.
Hendricks, who played in 215 games and never missed one in his career, was a key member of Raider's teams that won Super Bowls XI, XV, and XVIII.
In addition, Hendricks was selected to the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team, the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team, the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, and the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990, his second year of eligibility.
“Ted Hendricks had every endowment, every physical one of those needed by the premier linebackers in the NFL,” Davis said while presenting Hendricks for induction into the Po Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. “He could attack the pocket with the greatest of them all … but he could play space with devastating efficiency, intercepting passes anywhere on the field.
“Hendricks was nearly impossible to block at the point of attack, he was one of the first who could actually dictate to the offense, and on fourth down, he could block field goals and punts and extra points like no other player in the history of the game. He was the consummate linebacker, more complete, more all-around than anyone else who played this great game. His records, as well as his play, prove it, and this 6-7 giant was guided by a killer mentality.”
In their 64-year history, the Raiders have made four other trades that brought future Hall of Famers: cornerback Willie Brown, cornerback Mike Haynes, tackle Bob Brown, wide receiver Randy Moss, and wide receiver Antonio Brown.
Coach Antonio Pierce and General Manager Tom Telesco could make a trade for a player who could do something similar for the current Raiders.
The NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Mich., on April 25-27, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders currently have the No. 13 overall pick.
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