Commentary

No. 11: Raiders' best draft class

Stabler, Shell make Class of '68 silver and black's best

Originally Published: March 29, 2009
By ESPN Stats & Information | Special to Insider

ESPN Stats and Information has ranked all NFL players drafted in the modern draft (1967-2008) based on their performance during their NFL careers -- regardless of how they fared with the team that drafted them. Insider will count down each team's best draft class (seeded 1-32), then conduct a tournament to determine the best class of all time.

For a short explanation of the ranking system, click here, or, for a more detailed rundown of how the system was developed, click here.

The 1968 Raiders take on their rivals, the 1983 Broncos -- Vote now!

RAIDERS' BEST CLASS: 1968

From 1967 (the first year of the modern draft) to 1982, only the Pittsburgh Steelers had more success in the draft than the Raiders, according to ESPN Stats and Information's rating system. During that stretch, Oakland drafted five Hall-of-Famers, the franchise's all-time leading passer and winningest quarterback (Ken Stabler) and a five-time Pro Bowl cornerback (Lester Hayes). Recent times have not been so kind to the Raiders, however. Since drafting four-time Pro Bowl punter Shane Lechler in 2000, the Raiders have drafted just one Pro Bowler (Nnamdi Asomugha in 2003), which is tied for the lowest total in the NFL during that time.


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