Oakland Raiders Rumors: Darren McFadden Should be Dealt if Offered First or Early Second-Round Pick

Friday, February 3, 2012

OaklandRaiders.com

By Bear Heiser
Senior Writer

The Oakland Raiders don't hit the draft board until round five of the 2012 NFL Draft, but that could easily change if new general manager Reggie McKenzie wants to get a bit creative.

**Oakland could receive approximately two compensatory picks no higher than pick No. 97.

With that in mind, star running back Darren McFadden is now suddenly being talked about in possible trade scenarios. Steve Corkran of the Bay Area News Group recently called McFadden the Raiders' "best bargaining chip."

Drafted fourth overall by the Raiders in 2008, injuries have kept McFadden from fully hitting stride in the NFL.

McFadden has missed 19 games in his four seasons in the league, but the way he performs when healthy could make him attractive enough for McKenzie to snag a first or second-round pick in a trade.

Despite the injury history, no one will dispute McFadden's talent. The former Arkansas tailback rushed for 614 yards and scored five total touchdowns in the Raiders' first seven games of the 2011 season, and he was arguably the hottest back in the league before missing the final nine with a foot injury.

Michael Bush got the call in McFadden's absence and played extremely well along the way. Bush gained 740 yards on the ground in his nine starts and rushed for 977 on the season with eight combined touchdowns.

The strong play of Bush is what makes McFadden somewhat expendable. However, there is one problem: Bush is an unrestricted free agent and will likely receive a few lucrative offers, possibly from teams like the Cleveland Browns or the Cincinnati Bengals, who are both in need of a workhorse back.

The Raiders do have one option, though. And that option consists of slapping Bush with the franchise tag to keep him from going anywhere without receiving a king's ransom in exchange.

If the Raiders were to move McFadden and franchise Bush, second-year rusher Taiwan Jones from Eastern Washington would be the primary backup. Jones is as speedy as they come and would provide the Raiders with a significant change of pace from Bush.

While there will obviously be drawbacks to dealing a soon-to-be 25-year old running back on the verge of All-Pro status, McKenzie and the Raiders must decide what will make this team better next season. Missing out on the first three to four rounds of the draft could easily cripple any team's ability to build a solid foundation for the future.

One thing that also must be kept in mind when considering McFadden being elsewhere next season is the league's shift in mentality from "ground and pound" to "air it out." And you're seeing more and more teams reluctant to keep running backs around for long stretches of time, and that's mostly because of durability issues. If there is one guy who has had durability issues, it's McFadden.

With that said, McKenzie and the Raiders should try to snag as much as they can for McFadden if a deal were to present itself.


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