Nearly eight years after the Raiders used the first overall pick in the draft on one of the biggest busts of all time, former Lions G.M. Matt Millen says he warned the late Al Davis not to pick quarterback JaMarcus Russell.
Millen, a former Raiders player, explained during a visit to 95.7 The Game that Russell had a short visit to Detroit before the draft, with a quick ejection from Millen’s office and an equally quick exit from former Lions coach Rod Marinelli’s office after Russell had a hard time paying attention. Millen, whose team held the second overall pick, kicked Russell out after he looked at his watch three times in a handful of minutes.
So Millen, who should have been thinking only about the Lions’ best interests (which favored letting the Raiders take Russell), called Davis and warned him not to take Russell with the No. 1 selection.
“Coach, the guy’s a stiff,” Millen told Davis. “He couldn’t pay attention for five minutes. He couldn’t even pretend. It drove me crazy.”
But Davis didn’t believe Millen.
Millen said that, if the Raiders had taken Calvin Johnson instead of Russell, Millen would have selected running back Adrian Peterson.
So while it ordinarily makes good sense to do the opposite of whatever Millen recommends, in this case Davis should have listened to Millen.