ProFootballCentral.com

It has been 1 year, 9 months and 23 days since the football world has seen running back Michael Bush play a down, let alone the fact that he has never played a NFL down so what is all this hype behind a fourth round selection in the 2007 draft?

Bush, a 6-foot-1 who decided to forego his senior year as a medical red shirt at the University of Louisville to enter the draft, was the first pick of the fourth round when he was selected by the Oakland Raiders. The 100th pick overall, Bush was bypassed by many teams on day one because of the complications from a leg injury he suffered his senior year.

Before the injury which occurred on September 3rd 2006, put a halt to what could have been a Heisman type senior season.   Bush rushed for more than 1,000 yards as a junior and caught a lot of the media’s attention including so called ESPN draft “guru” Mel Kiper who ranked Bush as the No. 13 senior prospect in the country entering his senior season.

The big question remains if Michael Bush dodged past PFC Radio guest and then Kentucky linebacker Wesley Woodyard, would he have been a first round draft pick and would he be a starting running back for say the Buffalo Bills or the Tennessee Titans who both drafted a running back the first two rounds and both of there picks either started or saw a significant amount of playing time. 

Lets look at the Chicago Bears situation, they drafted Northern Illinois running back Garret Wolfe in the third round of the 2007 draft, just seven picks shy of Bush and with the recent release of Cedric Benson, Wolfe is now in a position to possibly start this season and I seriously doubt that the Bears would have passed on Michael Bush in the first round if he lasted that long in the draft.

The Oakland Raiders however, despite having a crowded backfield with then at the time Dominic Rhodes, Justin Fargas and Lamont Jordan, took a risk on the Louisville running back with there fingers crossed that he could return back to his junior season form. The Raiders decided to play it safe last season, instead of possibly rushing Bush, they decided to put Bush on injured reserve the last six games of the season despite the fact that Bush could have played and practiced with the team.

It’s is now closing in on two years since Michael Bush played football and the Oakland Raiders now have there new face at the running back position and his name is Darren McFadden.  McFadden and Bush definitely are not similar backs which can help both players in this depth chart battle. McFadden is known as a speedster, and Bush is different from the other Raiders running backs mainly because he looks more like a linebacker.

Listed at 6-foot-1, 245 pounds, he spent a lot of time solidifying his frame in the weight room. The mere thought of Michael Bush and Darren McFadden on the field at the same time should make any Raider fan smile from ear to ear.

The Oakland Raiders have a unique way of adding running backs the past few seasons. Just last year, when they drafted Bush and signed Dominic Rhodes the Raiders already had Lamont Jordan and Justin Fargas on the roster so what does a team do with 4 running backs? Let them play it out on the field and see who earns there roster spot. With Dominic Rhodes gone and Lamont Jordan possibly being the next to go, the Raiders now have Justin Fargas fresh off a 1,009 yard season and a brand new contract, Darren McFadden who is fresh off his six year,$60 million dollar contract and now Michael Bush who looks very very sharp in OTA’s and has a lot to prove, it really is a good time for an Oakland Raider fan to love this offense’s running game.