The Oakland Raiders took it on the chin from Bay Area critics after selecting Darrell Russell with the second pick in the draft.

Why? After all the pre-draft buildup that had them walking away from the selection meeting with Ohio State's Orlando Pace (who would have fulfilled a glaring need), there was much anticipation of welcoming the next Art Shell to Oakland.

Instead, they took a player at a position where they were already well stocked -- tackles Chester McGlockton and Russell Maryland, ends Lance Johnstone, Pat Swilling, Anthony Smith and Aundray Bruce and swing man Nolan Harrison.

The reigning school of thought was that they should have countered the Rams' move to No. 1 and ensured they came away with Pace instead.

"We could have traded up to No. 1 before we made the deal with New Orleans (to get to No. 2) and we could have traded up to No. 1 with the Rams after they made the deal,'' senior assistant Bruce Allen said. "We wanted the No. 2 selection.''

Furthermore, the Raiders made it clear, they would have been happy with whichever player fell to them ... as long as it was at No. 2. Drafting Pace at No. 1 was not in their plans.

"I think people took it for granted Orlando was our guy when we moved to No. 2,'' coach Joe Bugel said. "That was not the case. Honest. We felt the bottom line was that Pace was the best offensive player in the draft and Darrell Russell was the best player in the draft.''

Instead, it was a virtual tossup between the two -- so long as the pick was No. 2.

"If one player was an absolute necessity in our minds, we would have been at No. 1,'' Allen said. "But that's not where we wanted to be. We knew either way, we would get a quality player (at No. 2) that would help us immediately.''

Here's the rationale:

1) The No. 1 pick is far more expensive -- probably to the tune of about $2 million.

2) They feared as the No. 1 pick, Pace's agent would hold his man out. You can hold out a running back or a defensive lineman and he can still arrive late and contribute. But if your starting left tackle isn't signed until August and hasn't been blended into the mix through the hard months of training camp, you have the potential for not only disaster for the team but emotional disaster for the player once he gets on the field and discovers what the NFL is all about without plenty of advance preparation.

Making it more significant, particularly for an offensive lineman, are the NFL rules that restrict workouts prior to the end of the college term. In the old days, a team could give a new draftee a cram course on the system from the time the draft is over until the opening of camp. No more.

"With offensive linemen, it takes some time,'' Bugel said. "Ron Yary (the last No. 1 at the position) was a great player and he said it took him a year.''

Not that Pace wasn't intriguing to them. And speaking of intriguing, what if Seattle had traded up to the first pick and taken Shawn Springs. Given the choice of Pace or Russell with the No. 2 pick, who would the Raiders have taken?

"In fairness, there would have been a lot of discussion,'' Bugel said. "The young man (Pace), to his credit, is a heck of a football player. We talked about that possibility.

"The defensive player (Russell) was dominant. So was Pace. I don't know.''

"I polled the room,'' Allen said. "We have more defensive coaches now than offensive coaches. Obviously, all the defensive coaches would have fought for Russell and all the offensive coaches would have fought for Pace.''

And what would the managing general coach say? Allen just shook his head.

"We probably would have gone for Russell,'' Allen said.

What else could he say?

So, what does the addition of another defensive tackle do for a team that hasn't settled its offensive line, that still has no starter at strong safety or fullback and could use help in the receiving department?

The thinking can be best described in one word: overkill.

It's a plus, not a minus in the eyes of the Raiders to have a surplus of riches in a critical area. They wanted to be dominant in one area on defense and felt the best area to be dominant was on the line.

"When you get an impact guy and another impact guy right next to him, you are going to have to stay up a lot of hours to figure out how to block them,'' Bugel said. "If you have just one real good defensive lineman, they can take him out of a game. When you have two, three or four, look out. Storm the castle.''

The Raiders deny that the acquisition places more credence on the theory that McGlockton is on the trading block. In fact, they hinted, the acquisition of Russell made it all the more important to get McGlockton signed long term.

"Having a great defensive line for a number of years is the goal of the organization,'' Allen said.

"With a great defense you get more opportunities with the football,'' Bugel said. "It's that old theory of 1-2-3 kick. Give Jeff George and our group on offense chances and we will score.

"In the long run, we feel you win championships with defense. If you have a great defense, you have a great chance to win them. It is true you may get a rare guy like Pace to come out once every 10 years, but to get a rare defensive guy this size with this kind of impact, you cannot pass on him because of what he can do. He can disrupt offenses.''

Bugel compared Russell to a young Reggie White.

"When you look at a power type football player, you look at his lowers -- his rump, his lower legs. When you look at Reggie White, it's kind of frightening to see him in a football uniform. You say, `Oh gosh, I don't know if there is a human being that can block him.'

"You look at Darrell Russell, what he did against good opponents. You get a great evaluation. He had to sift through two or three people, run bench to bench. This is what Reggie White did as a young player. Just a phenom.''

As for the offensive line situation, Bugel said the Raiders weren't done putting the team together yet. Pat Harlow will remain at left tackle.

"Give him a chance,'' Bugel said.

As for filling the right guard spot, the Raiders are on the verge of sealing a deal with free agent Eric Moten, formerly of San Diego, and could have it accomplished this week. He would go to left guard and Steve Wisniewski to right guard.

Disregard the notion that the two 305-pound tackle/guard swingmen the Raiders drafted next in the third round -- Nebraska's Adam Treu and Iowa State's Tim Kohn -- were drafted to be instant starters. Treu needs much work on his pass blocking and was acquired because of his versatility and his ability to long snap. Kohn is also a run blocker who needs polish.

Fourth round selection Chad Levitt, a high production fullback from Cornell who just fell short of Ed Marinaro's school records, may have a good chance to start however. The Raiders moved up by trading their fifth-, sixth- and seventh-round choices to Miami to select him.

Afterwards, according to Bugel, Miami coach Jimmy Johnson called and offered to give all three picks back to the Raiders plus another pick in exchange for Levitt, who they had their eye on and thought they could still land when they made the deal.

The Raiders went out on a limb with their final two picks, both sixth-rounders. Colorado State's Calvin Branch was a running back they will shift to corner due to his 4.45 speed and 200-pound bulk. Later, they traded with Green Bay for past consideration to get Knoxville's little known defensive tackle Grady Jackson, who was once recruited to Alabama, failed to predict a 2.0 GPA off his SAT scores, then went to work to support his brothers when his parents died.

In all, the Raiders presented a rather curious draft. The selection of Russell makes sense if he is everything they say he is. The Raiders need to do something about the 34 sacks they managed last year, an 18-year low. He certainly figures to be more signable than Pace (his agent is Leigh Steinberg, with whom the Raiders have a good working relationship). When he is on, he is a terror. His coaches has refuted reports that he takes plays off.

"He never will play that many plays again in his life (as he did in college),'' said USC defensive coordinator Keith Barnes. "We played Arizona State in double overtime and he played more than 100 plays at 300-plus pounds. No 300-pounder will play that long like he did at the beginning of a game.

"He will do whatever they ask of him. He has never had an attitude problem. Over the next five years, he has Reggie White ability. He is the best athlete of any guy that size I have seen in my life.

"He hasn't scratched the surface of the football player he is going to be. Regardless of what the Raiders' needs might have been on the offensive line, what the Raiders did in considering him the best player in the draft was one helluva job.''

And if they can sign Moten and solve their offensive line puzzle, the fact they did not trade down for Florida State tackle Walter Jones will not seem so bad a consequence. At least they addressed offensive line depth in the third round.

And if they can sign free agent Eric Turner, their vacancy at safety appears solved.

And if Levitt can block as well as run, they may have pulled a fast one in the fourth round.

Russell makes it a good draft. The rest remains to be seen.

ROUND-BY-ROUND ANALYSIS

Round 1/2 -- Darrell Russell, DT, Southern Cal

The highest pick the Raiders have made in the draft since the NFL/AFL merger is figured to play both end and tackle with McGlockton doing the same in a mix-and-match setup. By moving them in and out, it allows Oakland to take advantage of mismatches they can set up in advance and improve the pass rush. Correctly, Bugel said that if a player taken with the second pick of the draft does not start, the team made a mistake. However, that would mean either McGlockton or Russell starts at end and either Lance Johnstone or Pat Swilling (probably the latter) does not. Since Johnstone is superior at defending the run, Swilling would probably become a situational pass rusher. The Raiders will play with their combinations in training camp to see which is most effective. Russell will be watched closely to see how well he adapts to wading his way through the trash in the interior line first. Evaluating defensive line talent has been an inexact science in the NFL but Bugel believes this one was a no-brainer because Russell played an attacking style (penetrate first, then sort things out) in college and because his size (6-5, 320) and quickness (4.9) does not make him one of those `tweeners. Bugel said his reaction upon seeing film of Russell was that he wanted him badly because he didn't want to have to find himself having to block him one day. "He is dangerous,'' Bugel said. A solid pick, though it did not exactly fill a need.

Round 3/72 -- Adam Treu, T/G, Nebraska

Not figured as a starter, Treu will earn his keep as a snapper even though the team also recently signed free agent Danny Villa for that purpose. Team likes his ability to play either position, his speed and his coverage after the snap. Runs in the 5.1 range and can get to the outside to pull on sweeps. Strength, by his own admission, is sub-par. He was swing man, playing both sides, in a three-man tackle rotation at Nebraska. Played for a school that stressed in-line blocking and played in bad weather, a plus according to Bugel.

Round 3/85 -- Tim Kohn, T/G, Iowa State

Another long-term project played LT for Cyclones, blocking for Troy Davis, who set NCAA record with back-to-back 2,000 yard rushing seasons. Another 300-pounder with speed to pull. Against Oklahoma as a junior was named game's most valuable offensive player after holding former Giants pick Cedric Jones to no sacks and three tackles. Has been inconsistent but is a developing player with capability of playing either position. Bugel said he looked for toughness and run blocking capability first, presuming pass blocking elements could be developed later on. This applies to both Kohn and Treu and is the reason they are not expected to challenge for jobs until later.

Round 4/123 -- Chad Levitt, FB, Cornell

Levitt was not drafted for his gaudy college rushing stats, although the Raiders were impressed that he dominated at the Ivy League level. Instead, the pick came off a recommendation by his college coach, Jim Hofher, who coached Dallas' Daryl Johnston at Syracuse and said he could become a similar hard-nosed blocker and was a better all-around athlete. Levitt carried nearly 30 times a game from 1994-96 in gaining 4,657 yards and scoring 44 touchdowns. They had to scour tape to find plays where he was asked to block. In the end, they took Hofher's word for it that he had the skills and the mentality to do so. He has never been much of a receiver, but the Raiders' offense is changing this year. Backs will be kept in to pass block whereas last year's starting fullback, Derrick Fenner, was frequently sent out on pass routes. But because no one knows how Levitt will take to NFL blocking, this choice was a bit of a gamble.

Round 6/172 -- Calvin Branch, DB, Colorado State

Although Branch (no relation to former Raider Cliff Branch) gained more than 1,200 yards and scored 21 touchdowns for the Rams last year, the Raiders see him as a cornerback or safety, a position he has never played. He has a 39-inch vertical jump and 4.45 speed. In private workouts, they studied him in his fledgling attempts to backpedal and turn on a route and came away satisfied. But in Branch's words, he felt those efforts were "awkward.'' As a running back, Branch was MVP of the Blue-Gray game. He does not seem to mind the move. He transferred to Colorado State after having been suspended from the Iowa State program for having in his possession an illegal parking sticker. He sat out one year.

Round 6/193 -- Grady Jackson, DT, Knoxville

His addition brings the team's total to 12 defensive linemen but according to Bugel, you can never have enough. He'll be asked his feelings on that subject once more on cutdown day. Jackson had 10 sacks at Knoxville but it was against inferior competition. His play in the Birmingham all star game for small southern universities, where he dominated, was what drew the Raiders' attention to him. He is reputedly a hard worker with size (6-2, 315), but given the numbers at the tackle position he'll need more than that to stick around.