Randy Moss trade steals NFL draft spotlight

Filed in archive on May 1, 2007

Courtesy Patriots.com

Randy Moss may have grabbed the most attention on draft day, and Moss wasn't drafted. The celebrated wide receiver has been in the NFL for nine years. Moss, though, stole the spotlight from JaMarcus Russell, Adrian Peterson and Brady Quinn, when the Oakland Raiders traded Moss to the New England Patriots for a fourth-round selection in this year's NFL draft.

You read right, a fourth-round draft pick for Randy Moss. The same Randy Moss who was once the most-feared receiver in the NFL. But is this really the same Randy Moss, who strung together six of the greatest receiving seasons in history from 1998 to 2003?

Since 2003, Moss has been a very average wideout by NFL standards. He's been downright awful by Randy Moss standards.

More importantly, Moss has given NFL coaches more trouble than tough division rivals. His constant outbursts in Minnesota, coupled with legal problems, led to a trade to the Raiders, where owner Al Davis hoped to give new birth to the vertical passing game he loves so dearly.

Highly criticized for giving a lackadaisical effort on the field, Moss never scared opposing defenses while in Oakland, as he once did in Minnesota.

Now, newly-hired, 31-year-old head coach Lane Kiffin and the Raiders have decided to part with the recalcitrant Moss. So, when the Patriots called, offering a fourth-round selection, Oakland jumped, replacing the once great Moss with a rookie "John Doe" cornerback from Cincinnati.

Although it looks like Oakland kicked Moss to the curb, as if he were an old dishwasher being set aside for tree-lawn scavengers, this might be the most brilliant move Kiffin and the Raiders make all year - even ahead of taking JaMarcus Russell with the first pick in the NFL draft.

During his two years in Oakland, Randy Moss has been the ultimate antagonist, complaining and moping far more than catching footballs.

Kiffin needs a new Raider image. Not only does he want the old arrogance that is indicative of great Oakland teams of the past, Kiffin wants what the Raiders have recently lacked - discipline.

Trading away Moss, for a fourth-round cornerback or a tree-lawn dishwasher, is a great start for the new coach.

Who knows, it might even revitalize the career of Randy Moss.