Oakland Raiders: Top 20 Draft Picks In Franchise History

#12:  Dave Casper (45th overall, 1974)

Tight ends were still an evolving position group during the 1970s.  Most teams still viewed them as mostly an extra blocker on the field who might catch the occasional pass.  Few had embraced the idea of turning it into a genuine offensive weapon.  Oakland joined those ranks when they found an interesting young man out of Notre Dame named Dave Casper.  Though hardly the biggest or fastest they’d ever seen at the position, it was impossible to miss what stood out about him.  He got open.

One could say the decision to start using him extensively in the passing game in 1976 was one of the key decisions by the Raiders that got them over the hump to their first Super Bowl title.  His 691 yards and 10 touchdowns transformed the offense into one of the most dangerous in football.  This consistent production would continue for the rest of the decade, during which he reached five Pro Bowls and punched his ticket to the Hall of Fame.  Not bad for a soft-spoken man nicknamed “the Ghost.”

Next: #11