Forget college production, Raiders go by the numbers

ALAMEDA -- NFL teams like to say they draft football players rather than athletes, weighting film analysis and interviews with players and coaches much more heavily than pure athletic ability. But the Raiders have never claimed to be like most teams.

Sunday, on the second day of the NFL draft, Oakland seemed to throw the film out the window and read straight from charts of height, weight, power and, especially, speed. Their picks included a cornerback who was fairly obscure until the NFL scouting combine, a wide receiver who missed most of his senior season with a knee injury, an undersized defensive end who began his college career as a tight end, and another receiver who might have been more highly regarded as a center fielder.

Big-time college programs? These guys came from Connecticut, Richmond, Buffalo and San Diego State. What the four new Raiders have in common, and what no doubt captured the fancy of owner Al Davis, is rare athletic ability:

Cornerback Tyvon Branch stands 5-foot-11, weighs 200 pounds and ran a blistering 4.31-second 40-yard dash at the combine. He was a cornerback at UConn, but defensive coordinator Rob Ryan confirmed that the Raiders believe he has the size and tackling ability to play safety. Fearing Branch would be stolen from them, they sent a seventh-round draft pick to Dallas for the opportunity to move up three spots in the fourth round. Branch also excels at kickoff returns, leading the Big East with an average of 28.9 yards as a senior.

Arman Shields also lit up the combine. The Richmond wide receiver posted the fastest time in his position group in the 20-yard shuttle (3.96 seconds), the fastest time in the 60-yard shuttle (10.87) and the third-best time in the three-cone drill. He clocked 4.38 seconds in one of his 40-yard dashes, enough to convince scouts his torn posterior cruciate ligament had healed. Oakland got him with a fourth-round pick, trading cornerback Fabian Washington – a first-round selection just three years ago -- to Baltimore to get there.

Trevor Scott didn't face top-level competition at Buffalo, and he wasn't invited to the combine. But at his pro day, the 6-foot-5, 258-pound defensive end ran the 40 in 4.54 seconds, benched 225 pounds 32 times and recorded a 33.5-inch vertical leap.

Some projected Scott as an outside linebacker; Ryan insisted he'll be a defensive end in Oakland.

Mel Kiper had San Diego State's Chaz Schilens rated the 110th best wide receiver in the draft – in other words, a nobody. The Raiders were captivated by his pro-day performance, where he ran a 4.34 40-yard dash and reached the 43-inch mark on his vertical leap. The Detroit Tigers drafted Schilens in the 34th round out of high school.

The Raiders went through seven rounds and five picks without adding an offensive lineman or a linebacker, oversights that the experts are certain to condemn. But after crowding the backfield by selecting Darren McFadden in the first round, the team did address needs at wide receiver and defensive end. Offensive coordinator Greg Knapp said the next round of free-agent signings could include quarterbacks and fullbacks.

Meanwhile, the man of the hour, McFadden, made a surprising visit to Alameda the day after becoming the No. 4 overall pick. He flew to the Bay Area late Saturday night, and appeared before the media Sunday wearing a dark suit, a Raiders cap and a broad smile. He sounded ready to do some damage.

"A lot of backs may be smaller with speed, but I feel like I'm a big back with speed," he said. "I feel like I can bring back to the Raider Nation a big player, but it's something the coaches talked about with me. They said what they're missing from their offense was the ability to make big plays."

Knapp, who already has a young quarterback with nearly unlimited potential in JaMarcus Russell and a high-priced former Pro Bowl receiver in Javon Walker, is excited to piece together the parts of his rebuilt offense.

"This kid's versatility is just unbelievable, watching him do the things he has done -- from quarterback, being outside, catching the ball out of the backfield, not to mention the running back himself," Knapp said of McFadden.

All of the rookies, as well as other players without an accrued NFL season, will take the field for a mini-camp on May 9-11. It will be the first chance to see whether the athletes are also football players.

You can reach Staff Writer Phil Barber at 521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com