Calvin Johnson and Joe Thomas were selected second and third, respectively, after JaMarcus Russell, the biggest bust in draft history went #1.
Not only is Russell's performance historically bad, but the Raiders passed on a ton of really great players to pick him. Johnson, Thomas, Patrick Willis, Darrelle Revis, Adrian Peterson, Marshawn Lynch, and Greg Olsen all went in the first round after Russell that year. And those are the just ones I can remember offhand.
He wasn't even a bust! But drafting a WR with the first pick is just dumb.
Why would you not?
Not only is Russell's performance historically bad, but the Raiders passed on a ton of really great players to pick him. Johnson, Thomas, Patrick Willis, Darrelle Revis, Adrian Peterson, Marshawn Lynch, and Greg Olsen all went in the first round after Russell that year. And those are the just ones I can remember offhand.
Drafting data has come a long way.