The Oakland Raiders have been a one man show for years. When it came to the NFL draft, there was no question who was calling the shots. Every single pick made by the Raiders from 1963 up to the 2011 draft was with out a doubt, an Al Davis pick. While there may have been people in Davis' ear, it would have been shocking to learn that Davis actually sought out advice from a source other than his brilliant football mind.
Now, as the Al Davis era has come to an end, and the Reggie McKenzie era begins in Oakland, the first non Al Davis draft has brought to light some clear differences between the old regime and the new one. First, there was the drafting of wide receiver Juron Criner, a guy who never would have work the Silver and Black in Al Davis' time. Criner was a third round talent who dropped to the fifth round due to a very poor showing in the forty yard dash at the NFL combine. Emphasis on speed, however, was not the only change that has come to the Raiders draft class. It now appears that the Raiders sought out the advice of a current Raider in deciding whether or not to pick certain players in the 2012 NFL draft. Take a look after the jump to see which player and what they told the Raiders scouts.
Despite having only played one full season in the NFL, the Oakland Raidersreportedly sought information from Stefen Wisniewski when deciding whether or not to draft former Penn State players Jack Crawford and Nate Stupar. Clearly, Wisniewski had some insight into these players as he was only one year removed from playing with them at Penn State. Asking Wisniewski what he thought of these players is not something that should shock many. However, the fact that he discussed this with the media should. Had Al Davis ever sought out the advice of a player regarding the draft, he surely would have told the player not to discuss such a conversation with the media. Apparently, Wisniewski was never given that instruction in the new regime. Wisniewski told reporters that the Raiders had in fact inquired into what he thought of the two Penn State prospects and Young Wiz had only good things to share.