First impression of the Oakland Raiders rookie class

Top pick Darrius Heyward-Bey 

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Whilst it is way too early to judge the Oakland Raiders class rookies, the recently concluded minicamp was a chance for them to make their first impression, either good or bad. The results from this past weekend are a mixed bag. 

Some of the guys raised their stock, whilst others may have made it a longer shot for them to make the team. For the higher picks, they had their chance to start to prove their numerous doubters wrong, but missing the end of camp with injuries did not help them accomplish this.

What follows is a look at what each of the rookies showed at minicamp to give their first impressions. These will be the images of them that will linger into training camp this season.

Darrius Heyward-Bey:

Heyward-Bey was impressive in the first day of camp. He showed none of of the dropsies that the experts claimed he brought to the table. He is as fast as advertised. However, he showed some lead hands when passes clanked off of his hands on the second day.

Missing the last two practice sessions didn't follow with his claims to be a hard worker. Head Coach Tom Cable said that his sore hamstrings were to be expected as NFL shape is different from playing shape in the NCAA.

Michael Mitchell:

Mitchell had the most to prove out of any of the Raiders draft picks. His selection in the second round set off a tremendous firestorm of criticism. Mitchell canceled his planned time off before camp so he could work with his personal trainer to be ready.

Mitchell looked fairly sharp in his first practice sessions, and he definitely displayed flashes of his speed. He didn't feel that he could show his full abilities in a non-contact such as this. As he said, "Its not football until you put pads on."

Like Heyward-Bey, Mitchell also missed his final practice of the minicamp with soreness and cramps. He spent most of his time working with the second team secondary, but will get an extended look during training camp.

Matt Shughnessy:

 Derrick Burgess's absence due to what the team calls stomach flu gave Shaughnessy the opportunity to get more reps than he otherwise would have. He was able to get some penetration in drills, although he didn't record a "sack." He was the highest selection to participate in all of the practice sessions.

Louis Murphy:

Murphy looked really sharp in his early drills, and was catching all of the balls thrown in his direction. However, Murphy was the first of the rookies to go down to injury. He took part in the first session before he went down to injury. He did participate sporadically in later drills, but was not consistently in drills.

Slade Norris:

Norris took the vast majority of his repetitions at strong side linebacker. Ricky Brown who started the season at strong side linebacker in 2008 practiced with the second team as a middle linebacker to give Norris more reps at SLB. The organization must be high on him to move Brown to the middle. He was the second highest draft choice to miss no time. The strong side linebacker position is a big transition for him, but he is working his way into it.

Stryker Sulak:

In addition to having the coolest name for a defensive end, Stryker spent his time with the second team defensive line. He didn't stand out by making big plays, but he also didn't make any glaring errors.

Brandon Myers:

Myers had issues catching the ball, in that he had several drops. However, his key to success is his blocking. He credits his strength as a blocker to working with Kirk Ferentz, and playing in the Big Ten which is known for its smashmouth football.

With the exception of the injuries to the top picks, this draft class shows promise. There are kinks that they will need to work out, but that is the purpose of training camp to further their development and get them ready for playing in the NFL.

 When it comes to the undrafted free agents, Cable gave praise to "the linebackers" which is a general statement. Frantz Joseph would be considered to be an early favorite from that group, despite him not having the speed of the other 'backers. He said that he will show what he can do once the pads are on. He also had praise for the tight end Chris O'Neil.