We hear it all the time: "Speed kills."
It's obvious that a player needs to have a lot of quickness and speed to compete in the NFL.
Without pointing fingers (although I'm staring directly at Al Davis), some teams put more stock in the 40 than in college film.
It's almost as if any track athlete could step onto the field at the NFL Combine in shorts, having never played a snap of football, run one of the best 40-yard dash times at the combine, and end up getting drafted in the third round.
Taylor Mays is no track athlete, but it’s safe to say his 4.43-second 40-yard dash, one of the 10 fastest at this year's Combine, as well as his 25 bench reps of 225 pounds, will get him more than his share of attention on draft day.
Most say that the Scouting Combine doesn't drastically change many teams' draft boards. One team that can call itself an exception to the norm, though, is the Oakland Raiders.
For that reason, I believe the Raiders may end up taking Mays with the eighth overall selection in the 2010 NFL Draft.
From a needs and value standpoint, it doesn't make sense at all that Oakland should pick Mays; there are much bigger needs that can be filled in much better ways at selection No. 8. There’s a black hole (pun intended) on both the offensive and defensive lines.
It makes sense that Mays would be drafted by Oakland, though, because it's a typical Al Davis pick. We all know that Davis values speed over need at just about every turn; with a recent first-round top-10 draft history that includes JaMarcus Russell, Darren McFadden, and Darrius Heyward-Bey, this year figures to be no different.
Those who don't learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them. Those who choose to ignore their mistakes, though, march blindly into their own demise.
It doesn&rsq...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
