The “AFR” First-Year Star
The Raiders Research Project presents:
The “AFR” First-Year Star Award
This award, started in 2006, is voted on by the members of Raiderfans.net, the biggest and best Oakland Raiders fans website.
It is intended to honor the rookie (or first-year) Raider who contributes the most to the team’s success during the season:
The “After Further Review” First-Year Star award is given to the rookie or first-season Raider judged by the members of Raiderfans.net to have contributed the most to the team in the just-completed season.
Nominees from the team’s rookies and second-year players who did not participate during their first season are selected by Eric Strauss, writer of the Silver & Black Report’s “After Further Review” column. They are then voted upon by the fan members of Raiderfans.net.
The winner is named the “After Further Review” First-Year Star!
The First-Year Stars:
2007: Zach Miller, tight end
The second-round draft pick in 2007 set a team rookie record for receptions, with 44, good for 444 yards (10.1 average) and 3 touchdowns. He started all 16 games and providing strong blocking to go with his good hands.
| Player | Position | Vote total | Vote pct. |
| Zach Miller (D2-07) | Tight end | 71 | 94.67 |
| Oren O’Neal (D6-07) | Fullback | 4 | 5.33 |
| Jon Condo (FA-07) | Long snapper | 0 | 0.00 |
| Hiram Eugene (OFA-05) | Free safety | 0 | 0.00 |
| Johnnie Lee Higgins (D3c-07) | Punt returner | 0 | 0.00 |
| Jay Richardson (D5a-07) | Left defensive end | 0 | 0.00 |
| JaMarcus Russell (D1-07) | Quarterback | 0 | 0.00 |
| Other | 0 | 0.00 |
2006: Thomas Howard, weakside linebacker
The fleet-footed second-round draft pick in 2006 won the starting job at weakside linebacker during the preseason and wound up starting 15 games while finishing with 110 tackles, good for second on the team.
Vote totals: Thomas Howard 80 (69.57%), Kevin Boothe 20 (17.39%), Michael Huff 12 (10.43%), John Madsen, Andrew Walter, “other” (nobody) all with 1 (0.87%), Kevin Huntley, Paul McQuistan both with 0.
| Player | Position | Vote total | Vote pct. |
| Thomas Howard (D2-06) | Weakside linebacker | 80 | 69.57 |
| Kevin Boothe (D6-06) | Right guard | 20 | 17.39 |
| Michael Huff (D1-06) | Strong safety | 12 | 10.43 |
| John Madsen (OFA-06) | Tight end/wide receiver | 1 | 0.87 |
| Andrew Walter (D3a-05) | Quarterback | 1 | 0.87 |
| Other (”no player”) | 1 | 0.87 | |
| Kevin Huntley (OFA-05) | Defensive end | 0 | 0.00 |
| Paul McQuistan (D3-06) | Left guard/right guard | 0 | 0.00 |
Sources: Raiderfans.net voting, Raiders.com, NFL.com
