Five most disappointing draft picks in Raiders history

This week, the three days of the NFL Draft will be pivotal in allowing the Raiders to continue building for the future.

It appears that they hit a home run with tight end Brock Bowers last year, and they made one of their greatest draft picks ever in Maxx Crosby the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history (for about a week). However, with the yin must come the yang, and Raider Nation has seen their fair share of draft busts come through their team. For reasons of poor play, nonexistent work ethic or never being able to shake off-field demons, these draftees failed to meet the expectations they arrived in the NFL with.

Here are five instances that the Raiders are hoping to avoid replaying in 2025:

5. OT Alex Leatherwood (17th overall pick, 2021)

Darrius Heyward-Bey in 2009 and Rolando McClain in 2010 were also for consideration, but they at least had some level of success at the NFL level. Leatherwood never reached even that benchmark.

Coming out of Alabama, Leatherwood was a questionable pick due to his lacking a set role in the NFL. Most scouts had the tackle kicking inside to guard, which naturally meant a reduction in stock. The Raider went against the grain and drafted Leatherwood in the middle of the first round anyway, and it is hard to put into words how disastrous his stint with the team was.

Leatherwood was one of Pro Football Focus’s worst-graded offensive linemen due to his struggles in pass protection and penchant for unnecessary penalties. When a new regime took over for departed head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock, they did not see enough out of Leatherwood and cut him before his second season. He last played in 2022 with the Chicago Bears, and bounced around the practice squads of the Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Chargers.

Leatherwood is currently out of the NFL, and it is already difficult to envision a path back.

4. WR Henry Ruggs/CB Damon Arnette (12th and 19th overall, 2020)

The 2020 Draft was difficult to predict due to a certain pandemic raging on at the time, but the Raiders class is widely regarded as one of the worst in team history.

With two first round picks at their disposal, the aforementioned Mayock spent them on Alabama wide receiver Henry Ruggs and Ohio State cornerback Damon Arnette. Both were impressive athletes from major programs, checking off the boxes the Raiders traditionally looked for at the time. Unfortunately, the team’s due diligence did not predict the nightmare that was coming.

In 2021, Ruggs was arrested and charged with multiple counts of driving under the influence of alcohol in a fatal car crash. He was sentenced to 3-10 years in prison, all but guaranteeing the end of his NFL career. Arnette was a similar headache, crashing rental cars and sending death threats on social media before ultimately being released.

Neither player made it through their second season with the Raiders, and the class set the team back years as a result.

3. QB Todd Marinovich (24th overall, 1991)

What had the potential to be a great NFL career turned into one of the league’s all-time trainwrecks.

Drafted in 1991 out of USC, Marinovich was nicknamed the Robo-Quarterback due to his regimented up-bringing and training. Literally from the cradle to the field, every aspect of Marinovich’s training and life was designed to make him the perfect athlete. Unfortunately, while Marinovich was talented on-field, his lack of self-control off of it derailed any chance of professional success.

In two seasons with the then-Los Angeles Raiders, Marinovich only appeared in eight games, throwing for 1,345 yards, eight touchdowns and nine interceptions. Marinovich failed three drug tests while with the Raiders, ultimately getting him suspended for the 1993 season and the team cutting him loose. While he would still play, Marinovich never made his way back to the NFL.

He has reportedly been sober since 2016, which is fortunate, but his downward spiral during his playing days remains a good cautionary tale.

2. OT Robert Gallery (second overall, 2004)

Objectively, Gallery is the best player on this list, but his career was certainly not what was expected from a second overall pick.

Coming out of Iowa in 2004, Gallery was a force for the Hawkeyes. In his final collegiate season in 2023, Gallery was given unanimous first-team All-American honors. The decision was an easy one for the Oakland Raiders to land him second overall, but they came away disappointed.

Remaining at tackle for the first three seasons of his professional career, Gallery would struggle to get acclimated to blocking NFL pass-rushers. He hit rock bottom during his lone season at left tackle in 2006, when he allowed 10.5 sacks in 13 games played. By that point, the Raiders switched Gallery over to left guard, where he stayed for the remainder of his career.

The switch to guard helped Gallery out immensely, but not getting the player they had in mind had to frustrate the Raiders immensely.

1. QB JaMarcus Russell (first overall, 2007)

Russell is not just the worst pick in Raiders history, but widely regarded as one of the worst picks of all time.

Despite having prototypical quarterback size and arm talent that made scouts salivate, some red flags regarding Russell’s character came up during his draft interviews. Then-head coach Lane Kiffin wanted to use the first overall pick on Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson, but late team owner Al Davis wanted Russell as the team’s franchise quarterback. The Raiders took the LSU man, and proceeded to spend the next few years regretting that decision.

Russell’s attitude problems started almost immediately, holding out of camp due to a disagreement with his rookie contract. Other stories from the infamous blank tape story to his sip-sip arrest dominated the news cycles, and was only compounded by his poor play on the field. By 2010, Russell was gone from the NFL entirely, just three years after the biggest moment of his life.

Russell is in the pantheon of draft busts alongside Ryan Leaf and Tony Mandarich, signifying just how rough his NFL tenure was.