Gurley's Take

I want to take some time and thank the Oakland Raiders for bringing some much-needed comic relief to the 2009 NFL Draft. Come to think of it, thank you for the laughter you've created by the many questionable and downright bone-headed moves you guys have made over the years.

In a day and age when winning is everything, the Raiders spend months preparing for an otherwise boring draft before spicing it up with some stupidity.

On Saturday, the Oakland Raiders were sitting pretty with the seventh overall pick in the draft. Making their pick even better was when future All-Pro receiver Michael Crabtree out of Texas Tech was available. Crabtree, widely regarded not as only as the best receiver in the draft but also maybe the best overall player, had to have known he was about to be a Raider. Oakland needed a big-time receiver for young quarterback JaMarcus Russell, and with Darren McFadden in the backfield, it would actually give the Raiders a chance to be an explosive offense.

Then the pick came in. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stepped up to the podium with the announcement. Raider fans, all three of them, were ready to welcome the Larry Fitzgerald clone to the Bay area.

"With the seventh pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders select Darrius Heyward-Bey."

I'd have to see a replay, but I'm pretty sure Goodell slapped himself before announcing that name. Heyward-Bey? The guy was projected by many experts to go in the late first round at the earliest. Don't get me wrong, I think this guy can be a solid receiver someday, but we're talking about a serious reach here.

I'd like to share the text messages I received immediately following the pick.

"Al Davis needs to be committed."

"I thought if the Raiders didn't take Crabtree, they'd at least be smart enough to take Maclin...but Heyward-Bey?!"

"I just decided what I'm gonna do with my life...I'm declaring for the NFL Draft next year and the Raiders are going to take me number one overall to play offensive tackle."

The truth is, I don't dislike Heyward-Bey. I know why the Raiders took the guy.

Oakland owner Al Davis, who the text was referring to, is head-over-heels in love with speed, and Heyward-Bey is the fastest player in the 2009 draft class. I don't know why Davis doesn't get a team of track and field guys and have the fastest team ever to take the field. I mean, their record couldn't be that much worse than it already is.

Maybe it's just me, but doesn't being able to catch the football and run solid routes and block defenders mean anything? I bring those up because Heyward-Bey doesn't really do any of those things very well. He's been listed as having shaky hands at best and being a very raw route runner. Crabtree, albeit slower than Heyward-Bey, has a great set of hands, is quicker than he appears, goes up to snatch the ball much like Fitzgerald and is a fiercely competitive guy. In 12 games last season at Texas Tech, Crabtree caught 125 passes for 1,861 yards and 21 touchdowns. I'm not saying Heyward-Bey won't be a solid player, but he won't be Crabtree.

Fast forward to the middle of the second round, and the Raiders are on the clock again. This time they have the 15th pick in the round. At this point I'm starting to doze off. A first round that's somewhere around two hours long will do that to you. That's when the Raiders struck again.

"With the 47th pick in the NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders select Michael Mitchell."

I'm no draft guru, but I'm pretty up-to-date on first and second round projected players. I had never heard of this guy. So, naturally, I waited to hear what the talking heads had to say about this guy and watch some video highlights like they do for every player-only there weren't any.

The explanation was that where the kid played, Ohio University, they didn't have any video of him at all. Leave it to the Raiders to draft a guy, in the second round I might add, that we can't even find highlights from.

Turns out Mitchell was a projected fifth round draft pick. There was a good chance he would've be available 96 picks later. Even the analysts seemed to be at a loss for words. All you really got out of them was a chuckle and a look of "Oh, those Raiders."

Whether it really is Al Davis drafting or a brain trust of elementary school kids, we may never know. But I say thank you, Oakland, for keeping things light and bringing about a hearty laugh to all those who love football.