The Las Vegas Raiders have a mixed history with first-round draft picks, featuring both successes and notable busts like JaMarcus Russell and Henry Ruggs. Many selections have been hindered by injuries and off-field issues.
Key points
Raiders have a history of first-round draft mistakes
Notable busts include JaMarcus Russell and Henry Ruggs
Successful picks include Khalil Mack and Charles Woodson
Injuries and off-field issues have plagued many selections
No NFL team is flawless when it comes to drafting. When taking a player in the draft, there are countless unpredictable factors that can be out of a team's hands. Injuries or off-the-field incidents can prevent players from even getting on the gridiron, while poor performance can simply be attributed to a player's shortcomings rather than a team's evaluation. The strategy of the draft is projecting how a team believes a player's career will unfold — and if it feels strongly about that individual, it will use a first-round pick on them.
Over the years, the term "bust" has come to describe players who were taken with a high draft pick but didn't live up to expectations. Just about every team has had some draft misses; it's virtually unavoidable over years of drafts. But for the Las Vegas Raiders, their top selections in the NFL Draft have historically brought a mix of bad luck, injuries, off-the-field issues and more.
The Raiders have picked some future stars — Khalil Mack, Tim Brown, Brock Bowers, Amari Cooper, Marcus Allen, Nnamdi Asomugha and Charles Woodson wound up being terrific selections — but for the most part, the franchise's first-round picks have not panned out.
Here's a look at the Raiders' history of first-round draft picks and the players who didn't live up to their high price tag.
What are the biggest draft busts in Raiders history?
Notable draft busts for the Raiders include JaMarcus Russell and Henry Ruggs, who both failed to meet expectations.
Which successful players have the Raiders drafted in the first round?
Successful first-round picks for the Raiders include Khalil Mack, Tim Brown, and Charles Woodson.
How have injuries affected the Raiders' first-round draft picks?
Injuries have significantly impacted the performance and careers of several Raiders' first-round selections, contributing to their overall draft struggles.
What factors contribute to a first-round pick being labeled a bust?
Factors such as poor performance, injuries, and off-the-field issues often lead to first-round picks being labeled as busts.
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The Raiders have had an extensive list of players that, in some fashion, did not live up to their first-round draft slot.
Here's a look at some of those players.
Bob Buczkowski, 1986
Taken as the No. 24 player off the board in 1986, defensive end Bob Buczkowski would total just 1.5 career sacks over four years in the NFL after his college career at Pitt.
In 2005, long after his NFL career was over, Buczkowski and his girlfriend were charged with running a prostitution ring out of his parents' basement from 2003-05. In 2007, he pleaded guilty to two counts of promoting prostitution and six counts of possessing and dealing cocaine, sentenced to 90 days of house arrest and three years probation.
Buczkowski died in 2018, with the cause being reported as an accidental overdose. His brain was donated to CTE research.
John Clay, 1987
The Raiders went with Missouri offensive tackle John Clay with the 15th overall pick in 1987, but his NFL career would be short-lived.
Clay was a three-time All-American in college, but after his rookie season in Oakland, he was traded to the Chargers. The 1988 season with the Chargers was Clay's last in the league.
Todd Marinovich, 1991
In 1991, the Raiders went after a quarterback in the first round, drafting USC's Todd Marinovich, the son of another Trojans legend, Marv Marinovich, who was a captain on the team's 1962 national championship squad and also played for the Raiders.
The 6-foot-4 quarterback, who was a hyped recruit coming out of high school, was taken ahead of Brett Favre in the 1991 draft. But he would only last in the NFL for two seasons due to his off-the-field issues — Marinovich dealt with substance abuse issues throughout his career, required to take frequent drug tests. And in 1992, the Raiders forced him into rehabilitation after he used a friend's urine for a drug test that showed heavy blood-alcohol content.
After spending time at a rehab facility, Marinovich then began using LSD after games in the 1992 season so it would not show up on drug tests; after failing another test, he went back into rehab. Before the 1993 season, Marinovich failed a drug test for marijuana, and he was suspended, then released.
Marinovich never returned to the NFL. He would go on to play in the CFL and AFL, continuing to deal with drug issues off the field. In 2025, he released a memoir titled "Marinovich: Outside the Lines in Football, Art, and Addiction."
Patrick Bates, 1993
A safety coming out of UCLA, then Texas A&M, Patrick Bates was drafted by the Raiders with the 12th overall pick in 1993.
He was a First-Team All-American in 1992 for the Aggies, but Bates didn't pan out in the NFL. He grabbed an interception with 16 tackles as a rookie, then added another 68 tackles in 1994, but Bates was eventually traded to the Falcons in 1996 and played just one season for Atlanta before being out of the league.
Matt Stinchcomb, 1999
Matt Stinchcomb's NFL career was dominated by injuries, which is why he's on this list. After being the 18th pick in the 1999 NFL Draft coming out of Georgia, the offensive tackle missed his entire rookie season with a shoulder injury.
In 2000, Stinchcomb played eight games before a knee and shoulder injuries sidelined him again. He joined the Buccaneers in 2004, where he had his first fully healthy season, but in 2005, the offensive lineman injured his back — and by 2006, Stinchcomb was forced to retire from the NFL due to blood clots and a heart condition following surgery complications.
He is now a college football analyst for ESPNU and the SEC Network and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2018 after being a two-time All-American at Georgia.
Safety Derrick Gibson certainly had a fine NFL career, totaling 196 tackles over five seasons for the Raiders from 2001-06. But as the No. 28 pick in the 2001 draft, he wind up quite being the difference-maker the team had hoped.
Gibson was a First-Team All-ACC selection and a BCS national champion at Florida State before he was taken in the draft. He played in the NFL until 2006, later becoming a high school football coach and currently the safeties coach at Florida Atlantic.
Tyler Brayton, 2003
The Raiders nailed one of their two first-round selections in 2003, taking cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha at No. 31 overall; he became a four-time All-Pro selection and one of the league's best corners. With their following pick, at No. 32, the Raiders took defensive end Tyler Brayton out of Colorado.
Brayton had a solid career, accumulating 17.5 sacks over nine seasons with the Raiders, Panthers and Colts, but he never produced at a first-round-pick level.
Robert Gallery, 2004
One of the highest all-time selections by the Raiders was in 2004, when they had the No. 2 overall pick. They used it on guard Robert Gallery out of Iowa, who was a unanimous All-American in 2003 and a two-time First-Team All-Big Ten selection.
Gallery, like some others on this list, did put together a solid NFL career, spending around eight seasons in the league between the Raiders, Seahawks and Patriots. But his production didn't live up to a No. 2 draft slot, as he shuffled around the offensive line with some struggles in Oakland, allowing 10.5 sacks as a left tackle in 2006. He improved more as he settled into left guard.
Gallery signed a $15 million deal with Seattle in 2011, was released the following year, then retired in 2012 after being on New England's practice squad.
Famously one of the all-time quarterbacks who starred in college but did not work out in the NFL, JaMarcus Russell was taken No. 1 overall by the Raiders in the 2007 NFL Draft after winning a national title, the Manning Award and Sugar Bowl MVP at LSU.
The Raiders drafted Russell hoping he'd be their long-term quarterback, but the marriage lasted just three seasons. Russell initially held out of training camp and the first week of his rookie season while seeking a contract he desired, ultimately agreeing to a six-year deal worth up to $68 million. He made his first start in the final game of the season, throwing two interceptions.
Russell was named the starter by head coach Lane Kiffin in 2008, and over 15 starts that season, he totaled 2,423 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Russell was benched during the 2009 season by head coach Tom Cable amid continued struggles. Even after an injury to Bruce Gradkowski, Cable opted to make Russell the team's QB3; he finished 2009 with three touchdowns vs. 11 interceptions and a 48.8% completion percentage.
After reportedly showing up to training camp in 2010 with weight concerns, the Raiders acquired another quarterback via trade, Jason Campbell, and Russell was released. He never played another down in the league — teams reportedly had concerns about his work ethic, and he never signed elsewhere despite various workouts. Russell later said he wrote letters to all 32 NFL teams seeking another shot but received no responses.
Russell's final numbers as a Raider included a 52.1% completion rate, 18 touchdowns vs. 23 interceptions and 25 total fumbles.
After taking a running back in the first round in 2008 in Darren McFadden, who had his own career struggles but did total 1,157 rushing yards in 2010, the Raiders went with wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey at No. 7 overall in 2009.
Heyward-Bey, who was named second-team All-ACC after 609 receiving yards at Maryland in 2008, was picked earlier than most analysts' projections, landing above other receivers like Jeremy Maclin and Michael Crabtree.
He would have a lengthy NFL career, playing 10 years in the league — but Heyward-Bey never hit the peak of a first-round receiver. His career-high in receiving yards was 975 in 2011 for the Raiders, but he only topped 500 yards in one other season, also spending time with the Colts and Steelers.
Rolando McClain, 2010
In 2010, the Raiders pivoted to a first-round defender, taking Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain with the No. 8 pick. But once again, it wasn't a pick that worked out.
McClain won a national championship, an SEC Defensive Player of the Year award and the Butkus Award for the Crimson Tide, but he would spend just three seasons with Oakland. He had a solid first two seasons — McClain had 85 tackles as a rookie, then 100 in 2011.
However, during the 2012 season, McClain had reportedly been kicked out of a team practice for an "incident," and he then posted on social media that he was "no longer a Raider." He would eventually be waived by the team in April 2013.
The linebacker initially announced his retirement at 23 years old following a brief stint with the Ravens, then joined the Cowboys in 2014. During his time in Dallas from 2014-16, McClain was suspended twice for violating the NFL substance abuse policy — and he was suspended indefinitely after failing another drug test in December 2016.
McClain was later reinstated by the NFL in 2019, suspended indefinitely again in December of that year, then reinstated again in 2023. He has dealt with various legal issues in the years since his NFL career began.
The Raiders didn't have a first-round pick in 2011 or 2012, but things still didn't work their way in 2013. They took defensive back D.J. Hayden out of Houston with the 12th pick.
In his first season, Hayden was hospitalized with abdominal adhesions during OTAs, then placed on IR in November after undergoing a sports hernia surgery. He was placed on the PUP list in 2014 due to a foot injury.
Hayden remained healthy for the 2015 and 2016 seasons in Oakland, with 70 tackles in 2015. But the team didn't bring him back as a free agent, and he would spend one year in Detroit, three in Jacksonville and one in Washington before his NFL career came to an end with 328 career tackles.
Karl Joseph, 2016
The Raiders had great picks in 2014 and 2015 with Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper, and in 2016, they selected West Virginia safety Karl Joseph with the No. 14 overall pick after he was a second-team All-American for the Mountaineers in 2015.
Due to a season-ending knee injury in 2015, Joseph did not participate in the NFL Combine, but he had five interceptions to that point. He did perform at West Virginia's Pro Day, but was mostly expected to be a second-or-third round pick.
Instead, the Raiders took Joseph at No. 14, and he began his career as a backup to Nate Allen. Injuries or other circumstances weren't the case for Joseph, but he didn't have first-round-pick production — he totaled a career-high 79 tackles in 2017, had one interception in each season with the Raiders, then signed with the Browns as a free agent in 2020.
Joseph rejoined the Raiders in 2021, but was then an August roster cut, and he last appeared in the NFL for the Steelers during the 2021 season.
Gareon Conley, 2017
Picking later in the first round in 2017 at No. 24, the Raiders took Ohio State cornerback Gareon Conley, who won a CFP title with the Buckeyes. Before the 2017 NFL Draft, a women accused Conley of rape, which he denied in a statement; a grand jury later ruled not to charge Conley. During the draft process, the Raiders reportedly used a polygraph test with Conley.
Conley would spend 2.5 seasons with the Raiders, including three interceptions in 2018, before being traded to the Texans in the 2019 season. That was his last year in the NFL, as Conley spent the entire 2020 season on IR for Houston, then signed in the UFL in 2023.
Clelin Ferrell, 2019
The Raiders had three first-rounders in 2019, and one of them, running back Josh Jacobs, turned out to be a good selection. However, the other two didn't pan out.
At No. 4 overall, the Raiders took Clemson defensive end Clelin Ferrell, who had led the ACC in sacks and TFLs in 2018 as a two-time national champion and two-time All-American. Most projections had Ferrell as a late first-round pick, but he was the fourth player off the board instead.
Over his four seasons on a rookie deal with the Raiders, Ferrell totaled 10 sacks. He signed a one-year deal with the 49ers in 2023, spent time with the Commanders and Chargers, and in 2025, finished with the most sacks since his rookie season for San Francisco with 4.0.
The third player taken in the first round by the Raiders in 2019 was Mississippi State safety Johnathan Abram at No. 27 overall, three picks after they took Jacobs. Abram was a third-team All-American in 2018.
However, in his rookie season, Abram tore his rotator cuff in Week 1 and was immediately placed on IR. He returned the next season, posting some good numbers, with 86 tackles and two interceptions, and had 116 tackles with another interception in 2021.
Abram, however, would be waived by Las Vegas in November 2022, and he has spent time since with the Packers, Seahawks and Saints.
Henry Ruggs, 2020
With the No. 12 selection in 2020, the Raiders took Alabama wide receiver Henry Ruggs III, who had won a championship with the Crimson Tide and had 24 all-time touchdowns in college as one of the fastest receivers in the draft, running a 4.27 in the 40 at the NFL Combine.
Ruggs, the first receiver off the board in 2020, played in 13 games as a rookie, totaling 452 yards and two touchdowns. But during the 2021 season, he was released in November after being involved in a drunk driving car crash that killed the other driver. Ruggs was charged with driving under the influence resulting in death and reckless driving.
In May 2023, Ruggs pleaded guilty to one count of felony DUI resulting in death and one count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. In August 2023, he was sentenced to between three and 10 years at a Nevada prison. He is first up for parole in 2026.
Damon Arnette, 2020
The Raiders used a second first-rounder in 2020, No. 19 overall, on Ohio State cornerback Damon Arnette. He played nine games for the team in 2020, dealing with a thumb injury, then again dealt with injuries in 2021.
During the 2021 season, the Raiders released Arnette after he was seen in a video with firearms and making death threats. Days prior, he was accused of injuring a woman in a 2020 car crash.
Arnette has since spent time on other teams' practice squads, also playing for the Houston Gamblers in the UFL. He has dealt with other legal issues in recent years.
Alex Leatherwood, 2021
With the 17th pick in 2021, the Raiders took two-time national champion and unanimous All-American offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood out of Alabama.
However, Leatherwood only played for the team for one season. He struggled as a tackle for Las Vegas, was moved to guard, then was waived before the 2022 season.
Leatherwood spent time with the Bears and Browns, and was most recently released by the Chargers in December 2024.
Tyree Wilson, 2023
With the No. 7 pick in 2023, the Raiders went with Texas Tech defensive end Tyree Wilson, who was a First-Team All-American the year prior.
Wilson, unlike the other players listed here, still plays for the team — as of 2025, he has totaled 12.0 sacks in three seasons, being one of the team's reliable secondary pass rushers. But Wilson also hasn't yet produced at a first-rounder level, appearing in 50 games but with a career-high of 4.5 sacks in 2024.
With Maxx Crosby doing a ton of heavy lifting for Las Vegas' pass rush, the team is hoping that Wilson can continue to develop toward stardom after being the seventh overall pick in 2023.
