Silver and Black Report

By Eric Strauss, S&B Report Staff Columnist

As the Raiders’ latest minicamp gets under way, most eyes are on 2008 No. 1 draft pick Darren McFadden.

This, despite the fact that Justin Fargas returns as the starting running back after a 1,000-yard season.

With dreams of McFadden teaming with 2007’s No. 1 overall pick, quarterback JaMarcus Russell, in a dream backfield, it’s worth noting that, in the 47 seasons the Raiders have played football, only two running backs have led the team in rushing.

The first, of course, was Hall of Famer Marcus Allen, who gained 697 yards during the strike-shortened 1982 season, when he was the Raiders’ first-round draft pick.

But do you know the other Raider rookie rushing leader?

One hint: It’s not Napoleon Kaufman, the last running back - and, before McFadden, the only one since Allen - chosen by Oakland in the first round.

Did you guess before you clicked?

If you said “Greg Robinson,” you are correct!

If you read that, and said, “Who?,” then let me elaborate:

Greg Robinson was an eighth-round draft pick in 1993, chosen just after the Raiders picked future middle linebacker mainstay Greg Biekert in the seventh round.

The former star at Northeast Louisiana (now Louisiana-Monroe) arrived at an opportune time. Allen had left the Raiders as a free agent after years of feuding with Al Davis, and Bo Jackson had retired due to his hip injury suffered in the 1990-91 AFC playoffs. Eric Dickerson, who led the team in rushing in 1992, had also departed.

The favorite for the job, Nick Bell, was injury prone, and when he went down in training camp, the Raiders turned to Robinson over veteran fullback Napoleon McCallum, second-year man Tyrone Montgomery and fellow rookie Randy Jordan. That made him the first rookie to start at running back on Opening Day since Allen.

And Robinson, who wore No. 28, looked like the man for the long term through 12 games, as the Raiders were 7-5 en route to a 10-6 season and the team’s last playoff appearance until 2000.

He had gained 591 yards on 156 carries, the third-leading rookie rushing total in Raiders history, and the top rushing mark among AFC running backs at that point. He also had 15 receptions and four kick returns.

But in that 12th start, against the Buffalo Bills, Robinson tore up a knee, ending his season.

And, as it turned out, his Raiders career.

(Bell got starts in three games, and Jordan one, at the end of 1993; McCallum and Montgomery were the top playoff rushers.)

Robinson spent the 1994 season on injured reserve, still trying to rehabilitate the knee,
but was released in 1995 when he couldn’t regain his previous form - after a trade to the Green Bay Packers was voided when Robinson failed the Packers’ physical.

He eventually made his comeback with the St. Louis Rams, playing in five games, with one start, in 1995 and 11 in 1996. He gained 165 yards on 40 carries, plus two catches, in 2005, and 134 yards on 32 carries, with one catch, in 1996.

Robinson remains a part of the Louisiana-Monroe record books, with his 1992 totals of 1,011 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns, plus his 250-yard game in 1992 and 1991 total of nine touchdowns, still in the all-time Top 10. His 22 career touchdowns remain a school record.