Guessing the Pick - Take One

First, a caveat: I really have no idea.

Most mock drafts have maintained that the Raiders will go with a WR when they make the 7th selection in next week's 2009 draft. Some think Michael Crabtree will fall in their laps, others say Jeremy Maclin has the Cliff Branch profile that Al Davis loves, and a few have decided that Darrius Heyward-Bey has such off-the-charts measurables (e.g., 4.25 40) that Al will bite on him at 7 even though he should go in the second half of the first round.

Local consensus, and even ESPN's Todd McShay, has begun to drift towards offensive tackle as a distinct possibility after Tom Cable gushed over the four "outstanding" tackles he sees in this year's draft during last week's press conference.

At this moment I tend to agree that, despite a horrifying shirtless pro day for which I refuse to search YouTube, the Raiders will pick Andre Smith out of Alabama. Cable had this to say about him: "He’s a dynamite player. Dynamite."

This is Cable's first draft, so not only are we unsure whether he'll play the Kiffin smokescreen game ("We really don't need a running back." "We wanted him all along.") but we also can't know how the dynamic will play out between him and Al. Obviously Cable loves offensive linemen and my bet is he would love to get his hands on some raw talent. And I suspect that Al could be convinced - he allegedly let Art Shell pick Michael Huff, and many tens of millions of dollars are tied up in the hope that JaMarcus will have time to throw deep.

Oh...but to whom?

I'm sure later in the week I'll decide that Crabtree is the pick. At the moment I'm not sure he'll be around at #7, though.