For a team that didn't end up with a pick in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders did pretty well for themselves. The Raiders found a few young talents that figure to be in the mix for the next few years.
↵Mel Kiper of ESPN originally gave the Raiders a pretty average C+ rating because of the lack of overall picks. It was impossible for Kiper to really get an overall read because of the lack of known commodities. However, upon further review, it seems Kiper is upgrading the Raider stock. Stefen Wisniewski, Denarius Moore, DeMarcus Van Dyke all saw significant playing time, Taiwan Jones figures to be a star in the near future with his dynamic style of play, and Chimdi Chekwa should develop into a solid contributor down the road. The rating was moved up to a B+ in his retrospective of the draft post-2011 regular season.
↵To discuss the Raiders, head to Silver and Black Pride.