Oakland Raiders: The Franchise’s All Time Starting Team

Sep 24, 2014; Bagshot, UNITED KINGDOM; General view of Oakland Raiders helmet and Wilson footballs at practice at Pennyhill Park Hotel in advance of the NFL International Series game against the Miami Dolphins. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Linebacker – Rod Martin

Considered to be undersized for a linebacker and too slow to be a safety, Martin wasn’t drafted until the twelfth round of the 1997 draft. The Raiders rolled the dice and used pick number 317 on the USC product. And he went on to have a storied twelve year career with the team.

Martin won two Super Bowls with the Raiders and had outstanding performances in them both. In Super Bowl XV, Martin intercepted Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski three times – which is still a Super Bowl record for most picks in one game. The three interceptions overall is a record shared between Martin, Chuck Howley and Larry Brown.

Sacks weren’t kept as official statistics the first five seasons of Martin’s career, so he is only credited with 33.5. He was named to two Pro Bowls, was an All Pro in 1984 and a second team All Pro in 1983.
He played the biggest on the biggest stage and was one of the Raiders’ steadiest and most dominating players over the course of his career.

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