American Football Spectacular: Meet Your Oakland Raiders 2006 Draft Picks, "The One, The Two, and The Three."

* Picked round 2, pick 6; 38 overall / Thomas Howard / LB / UTEP / 6'3" / 240 / "Fleet-footed #53"

Story: Coverage. When purchasing a burqa or a weak-side linebacker, it's something that must be taken into account. Thomas Howard looks to provide full-body coverage for your Raiders. Burqa-style.

Walking on at UTEP as a defensive back after not receiving a scholarship, Howard converted to LB and began to excel. So the idea at work here is a 240-pound guy moving with a safety's speed. Tell us 'bout it, Tom:

"My freshmen year, I gained a solid fifteen pounds which took me to about 215 or 220 pounds and I have just put on a few pounds every year after that," said Howard to Scott Wright at nfldraftcountdown.com. "Coming from the secondary, I have the speed of a safety or even faster and my ball handling skills are as good as you are going to find."

Kay. Sounds good. Tell us more.

"My strongest area is my speed, playing from sideline to sideline, and my ability to rush the passer."

Sounds like just what the Raiders have been lacking in the their LB corps.

And how do they fit?: "Seriously, how many good linebackers have we had since Biekert?" said American Football Spectacular's Raiders correspondent MC Fried Chicken. Yeah man, it's been sparse there behind the line in the last couple seasons. And the guys the Raiders had left on the roster from the failed 3-4 alignment were large, heavy, slow guys once Harris was shipped off to MIN in the Moss theft/trade. Now back in the 4-3 set, the Raiders needed speedy LBs who can cover the AFC West's terrifying tight ends such as Antonio Gates in San Diego, and Cal's former power forward Tony Gonzalez in KC. Now OAK has picked up Howard and USC's Darnell Bing. Mmm-hmm. Howard's scouting reports say that he needs to learn to react to the play a bit quicker and bulk up a tad more, but yeah, looks good on paper.

Outlook: Howard is already penciled in at starting weak-side linebacker, so The Raider Nation will be getting an eyeful of him when the new season comes. It's been a while since number 53 meant anything positive in Silver And Black.

* Picked round 1, pick 7; 7 overall / Michael Huff / DB / Texas / 6'1" / 205 / "The Coulda-Had"

Story: He was the best player on the Raiders' draft board when the seventh pick came, and so, Michael Huff will wear 24 for the Raiders. Much like Thomas Howard is reclaiming Romo's #53, Huff is charged with making #24 matter again. Which is not to say there are no positives that come with that number...

"I'm wearing the number 24," Huff said to the Chronicle. "Willie Brown follows me around every day." Literally and figuratively. The Hall Of Fame Raider cornerback is now the defensive back coach and will be showing Huff the ropes.

With prototype size, Huff can play any defensive back position well, and should be wearing as many hats as the Raiders' staff can dream up for him.

And how do they fit?: Posited to be big upgrade at safety, OAK's Defensive Coordinator Ryan wants Huff to develop like Roy Williams of the Cowboys; a big-hitting, ball-hawking gamer to be reckoned with. The knock is that he needs to work on his tackling, but that can be taught.

"He's a massive defensive back. You don't wanna cross the middle, that's all I gotta say," gushed American Football Spectacular's Texas correspondent DJ Burrito. Yeah, that sounds a lot better than how the strong safety position has been in Oakland for the past few years. No one has been afeared of a Raiders safety since the crafty Rod Woodson left. Perhaps that's about to change.

With Huff and "Crazy White Boy" (as MC Fried Chicken calls Schweigert) playing deep, AFS feels that complexion of the Raiders' defensive backfield has finally taken a positive turn for the first time in a long time.

Outlook: Huff will for the rest of his career be value-compared against the other players that your Raiders could've picked up instead of him in the draft. Namely, USC's quarterback Matt Leinart, who went to Arizona. Huff's selection further reinforces that Oakland wants to win now, as soon as possible. A team that was going through a full rebuilding process might've made a different move, but the Raiders franchise look to be binding their wounds as best they can and moving on. Huff will be seeing a lot of time on the field this Sunday.

And since Texas beat USC for the College American Football Championship, AFS expects that Huff will fully be enjoying his bragging rights over USC's Bing, just as DJ Burrito enjoys gloating over USC fan MC Fried Chicken.

In conclusion, your Raiders' 2006 draft pick are:

* Picked round 7, pick 47; 455 overall / Kevin McMahan / WR / Maine / 6'2" / 196 / "Mr. Irrelevant"
* Picked round 7, pick 6; 214 overall / Chris Morris / C / Michigan State / 6'4" / 305 / "The Heady Snapper"
* Picked round 6, pick 7; 176 overall / Kevin Boothe / OL / Cornell / 6'4" / 327 / "The Ivy League Hotelier"
* Picked round 4, pick 4; 101 overall / Darnell Bing / S / USC / 6'2" / 230 / "The Match-up Solution"
* Picked round 3, pick 5; 69 overall / Paul McQuistan / OT / Weber State / 6'6" / 315 / "The McNasty"
* Picked round 2, pick 6; 38 overall / Thomas Howard / LB / UTEP / 6'3" / 240 / "Fleet-footed #53"
* Picked round 1, pick 7; 7 overall / Michael Huff / DB / Texas / 6'1" / 205 / "The Coulda-Had"

Next up on your American Football Spectacular: AFS previews your 2006 Oakland Raiders as they head to Canton to open the preseason against the Philadelphia Eagles.