In the past, I have put together a list of the best to wear each number on the Raiders. But that’s just comparing other Raiders players to wear that number. Would those players be the greatest to wear the number if compared to every player in NFL history to wear that number?
Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar went about finding that out.
His list includes a good number of Raiders players. Starting, of course, with 00 himself and working from there. Here are all the former Raiders who made the list:
00 — Jim Otto
26 — Rod Woodson
29 — Eric Dickerson
37 — Lester Hayes
42 — Ronnie Lott
46 — Todd Christensen
80 — Jerry Rice
83 — Ted Hendricks
Raiders greats who didn’t make the list (and who made it instead):
3 — Daryle Lamonica (Jim Thorpe)
8 — Ray Guy (Steve Young)
12 — Ken Stabler (Tom Brady)
16 — George Blanda, Jim Plunkett (Joe Montana)
17 — Davante Adams (Philip Rivers)
21 — Cliff Branch (Ladainian Tomlinson)
22 — Mike Haynes (Emmitt Smith)
24 — Willie Brown, Charles Woodson (Darrelle Revis)
25 — Fred Biletnikoff (Richard Sherman)
32 — Marcus Allen (Jim Brown)
41 — Phil Villiapiano (Eugene Robinson)
48 — Lionel Washington (Stephen Davis)
50 — Dave Dalby (Mike Singletary)
52 — Khalil Mack (Ray Lewis)
63 — Gene Upshaw (Willie Lanier)
75 — Howie Long (Joe Greene)
76 — Steve Wiisniewski (Orlando Pace)
78 — Art Shell (Bruce Smith)
81 — Tim Brown (Calvin Johnson)
87 — Dave Casper (Willie Davis)
As you can see, while eight Raiders greats is a decent number to make the list, there’s a staggering number of Raiders greats who did not.
I’m sure many you probably disagree with a few of the snubs here, and I do as well. The one that stands out to me is Darrelle Revis being named the best number 24. I like Revis a lot, but no way would I have placed him above either Old Man Willie or CWood. As I see it, the title for best No. 24 should go through them.
