Oakland Raiders: Richard Seymour Was Worth Giving Up First-Round Pick

I will never forget the vast and confusing emotions that swirled deep in my gut when I woke up one morning to learn that the Raiders had traded for Richard Seymour. At first, I was ecstatic. Here is a guy that has been the backbone of the defensive line on one of the best teams in football and he was coming at a time when our line was pathetic.

Then, I found out what we had given up to get him, the 2011 first-round pick. My joy immediately left and an unsettled feeling began creeping over my body. For seven years, the NFL Draft was one of the biggest events for Raiders fans. With a team that was perennially struggling, to put it nicely, the Draft offered hope. If we could just draft that one guy who would be an all star and turn things around.

Now, on the day of the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft, my Oakland Raiders do not have a first-round pick, and I couldn't care less.

The Raiders are coming off of their best season since they went to the Gruden Bowl, uh, I mean Super Bowl, and their success is largely due to Richard Seymour.

Obviously, the Raiders' primary problem over the struggle years, as I call them, has been a lackluster offense—again, to put it nicely. However, the offense often found  themselves in almost unbeatable circumstances. Often unable to get going at the beginning of the game, opposing teams would run the ball with ease and pick on the corner opposite Nnamdi while compiling a lead that would allow them to run the ball and eat clock the remainder of the game.

When Seymour came to the Raiders, the impact was immediate. While he was not a world beater, his impact on the team was undeniable.

Seymour brought something to the Raiders that no other member of the team could, a winning mentality and a winners' experience. Seymour showed the team what it takes to be a winner when he put his ego aside and was the first player on the rookie/sophomore bus to ...

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