By Dan Parr
April 26, 2008

Al Davis just couldn’t say no.

To many outsiders, the logical pick for the Raiders at No. 4 was Ohio State DE Vernon Gholston — a fierce pass rusher that could wreak havoc in the backfield while CBs DeAngelo Hall and Nnamdi Asomugha blanketed receivers.

That defense had the makings of turning Sundays into Silver and Black nightmares for opposing offenses.

Rather than pick by need, Davis opted to use the "best player available" approach and selected former Arkansas RB Darren McFadden, even though Oakland’s backfield is already full with solid performers including Justin Fargas, Dominic Rhodes and LaMont Jordan. Michael Bush sat out his rookie year recovering from a broken leg, but reportedly is ready to roll. One league scout compared him to Falcons RB Michael Turner.

In fact, Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin’s offense has been described as one in which just about any running back could succeed. Last season, Fargas went from a backup who had never run for more than 659 yards in a season to a 1,000-yard rusher, despite missing two games and starting only seven.

Selecting McFadden, an incredible talent with a boatload of baggage, isn’t a terrible pick, but it’s not what the Raiders needed most. Knowing Davis, McFadden’s top-flight speed and home-run-hitting ability was too much to pass on. McFadden will be an instant contributor, but he won’t be the game-changer Adrian Peterson was for the Vikings last season. The Arkansas product doesn’t have the power of Peterson, but his breakaway speed should take some pressure of JaMarcus Russell in his first year as the full-time starter.

The Raiders do not pick again until the fourth round, so Davis won’t get another chance to pick a game-changing defender or a powerhouse offensive tackle to protect Russell.

Something tells me the excitement McFadden brings won’t make up for the opportunity the Raiders missed on Saturday.