2008 Season - Day 2 - Shields

125th overall.
This was the result of a trade. For former first round choice, corner back, Fabian Washington. Dealt to the Baltimore Ravens. In the Baltimore Ravens' estimation, speedy Oakland Raiders reserve cornerback Fabian Washington was superior to any incoming rookie at his position during the second day of the NFL draft. So, the Ravens traded a fourth-round draft pick (125th overall) to Oakland for Washington in order to alleviate a pressing need in the secondary. He could eventually push Samari Rolle for a starting job and will be a strong candidate to be the nickel back. "Hopefully, he will come in and compete," general manager Ozzie Newsome said. "I think that's what makes our team as good as it is. In our division, they throw three wide receivers at you in a hurry."

Oakland traded up in the draft three years ago to take Washington with the 23rd overall pick. He started 11 games as a rookie and played very well his second season before losing his starting job to Stanford Routt early last season. Washington had five interceptions and 28 passes defensed in his three seasons in Oakland. Although Washington was the fastest player at the 2005 NFL scouting combine with a 4.29 time in the 40-yard dash prior to being picked in the first round with the 23rd overall pick, he lost his starting job to Stanford Routt after the third game last season and became even more expendable with the offseason trade for Pro Bowl cornerback DeAngelo Hall. "We have been talking with the Raiders about Fabian Washington even before they made the trade for DeAngelo Hall," Newsome said. "He's very excited. The thing is guys know about our defense and their play gets elevated when they come to Baltimore. They realize that they have to take their play to another level. "That's how he felt on the phone. That allows us to have a veteran player who has started games in the NFL, brings more depth to our secondary, an area where we felt like in the draft we didn't think there was any other player favorable to Fabian." Washington, 24, arrives with some off-field baggage, though. He was arrested in February for domestic battery in an incident involving his 21-year-old girlfriend. Last week, he found out that he would be allowed to avoid prosecution if he completes a 26-week intervention program for first-time offenders and stays out of trouble. "As far as the domestic charge, I spoke to him today about that," Newsome said. "Based on the information that we have at this point and what he's undergoing, I don't think at this point there can be any league discipline, but that's not for me to say. That's for the league to make that determination." Washington, 24, was arrested at his home in East Manatee County, Fla., after a responding police officer noticed a red mark on the neck of his girlfriend. "I observed slight red marks on the victim's neck," the arresting officer wrote in the report after responding to her 911 call. Washington pleaded not guilty to the charge, denying that the altercation became physical. His girlfriend later said that she didn't want him prosecuted. There's still a pending paternity lawsuit to determine if Washington is the father of his girlfriend's infant daughter. Washington has had his issues on the field, too. The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder reportedly lost confidence after being burnt repeatedly by Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson in December 2006. In three wide receiver sets last season, quarterbacks repeatedly went after Washington. The upside with Washington is his rare speed and the fact that he'll be coached by Chuck Pagano, his secondary coach in Oakland. He's also under contract through 2009 with base salaries of $750,000 this season and $1.515 million next year. Washington, who has 112 career tackles, 24 pass deflections and five interceptions, has to report to Baltimore to take his physical in the next few days. The Ravens have been high on Washington ever since his days as a three-time All-Big 12 selection at Nebraska and considered trading back for him if they had been unable to pick Oklahoma wide receiver Mark Clayton. "If Mark would have gotten picked that year, we already had some trades set to move back," Newsome said. "Fabian would have been one of the players we would have targeted."

.....Pick?

Arman Shields, wide receiver from Richmond
4.41 at 194.

Of top 101 rated receivers, 6 ran a faster time - all in the 4.32 to 4.39 range.
A. Caldwell 4.39 at 204.
W. Franklin 4.39 at 214.
C. Schilens 4.39 at 208.
G. Bracey 4.32 at 201.
A knee injury which required surgery caused Shields to miss 10 games, but great workout numbers at the combine convinced the Raiders he was an athlete which could be added to the receiving corps, joining newcomers Javon Walker and Drew Carter and holdover Ronald Curry. Shields is considered a strong run-after-the-catch player and offensive coordinator Greg Knapp loves his ability to go up and get the ball. Shields had 12 catches in the season opener against Vanderbilt last year before missing most of the rest of the season with a knee injury. Shields had 160 catches for 1,930 yards and 13 touchdowns in his college career. Arman Shields knew what he was waiting for -- that draft day phone call hopeful players are told about, the one that will change their lives and mark the completion of a dream. For Shields, that began when he was just 6 years old. But before any phone rang in the Shields house just outside of College Park, the Richmond wide receiver who attended Gonzaga saw his picture pop up on the TV screen, and the crawl displayed he was a fourth-round pick, 125th overall, by the Oakland Raiders. He had no warning, but there the dream was -- he was a professional football player. Shields, one of 11 players with local ties to be selected in the final five rounds of the NFL draft, immediately began to cry. Then the call came. "We've been trying to call you for a while now," an Oakland representative said before passing Shields on to Raiders coaches. "But your phone was always busy." Shields laughed as he recounted the conversation, still in disbelief. He hadn't been on his phone all day, he told the Raiders, but rather intently staring at it. "When I saw my face I was shocked," Shields said. "Was it really there? You try to think about how you'll react, but it wasn't anything like I expected it to be." But the draft process had never been anything like Shields expected. After missing all but one game of his senior season because of a torn posterior cruciate ligament, the 6-foot-1, 194-pound Shields attracted significant attention as a top performer among receivers in every workout evaluation at the draft combine, earning the most attention for his 4.44 average in the 40-yard dash. Oakland "always showed a lot of interest in me," Shields said. "I had one strike against me coming from a non-traditional football school, then another when I got hurt. But my family, my dad, always told me to keep dreaming, and now I'll be wearing black and silver. All of the hard work really does pay off." Shields joins an Oakland's receiving corps that's no stranger to injury -- Ronald Curry, Javon Walker and Drew Carter all have missed time because of knee or foot problems -- but the Raiders are looking to give quarterback JaMarcus Russell more options.

2007: Preseason All-CAA Football selection.

2006: Second Team All-Atlantic 10 selection... Second Team All-Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) selection... Started 10 games (missed the season-finale with an injury)... Reeled in a career-high five touchdown passes on the season... Was ranked 47th in the country (fifth in the A-10) with 64.3 receiving yards/game... Shields was also ranked 29th nationally (seventh in the A-10) with 5.4 receptions/game... In Richmond's season-opening 13-0 win at Duke, Shields caught five passes for 69 yards and a touchdown... He broke off a career-best 41-yard kick off return against Delaware... He also caught seven passes for 83 yards versus the Blue Hens... Caught two touchdown passes and collected 124 yards receiving in a late-season game at Villanova... Hauled eight passes in each of Richmond's final three games of the season.

2005: Helped an offense which scored 349 points on the season, second-most all-time at Richmond... Was part of an offense which averaged 381.3 yards a game, ranking 41st in the country... Helped the Spiders to a total of 4,957 yards on the season, most-ever in Spider football history... Recorded five 100+ yard receiving games, the first Spider to break the century mark five times in a season since Rod Boothes did it six times in 1992... Hauled in 62 catches for 842 yards and four touchdowns... His 62 catches ranked third on the Richmond all-time single-season reception list... His 842 yards were sixth-best in a single-season at Richmond... Garnered a 14-catch game in the Spiders' double-overtime win over Hofstra, the third highest single-game total in Spider history and the most since Walker Gillette's 20-catch game in 1968.

2004: Played in 10 games, starting three... Second on team with 30 receptions and 320 receiving yards... Tied for team lead with four receiving touchdowns... Five catches for 80 yards and two scores against James Madison (Oct. 23)... Season-high seven catches for 81 yards at Hofstra (Oct. 30)... Season-long 50-yard reception against the Pride.

2003: Redshirted.

High School: Earned All-Conference honors after leading his team to its first conference championship under head coach Kenny Lucas in 2002... Made 26 receptions for 350 yards and five touchdowns as a senior... Recorded 22 tackles, four pass break-ups and one interception for the Conference's top-ranked defense... Also helped lead the track team to a conference title.

Personal: Son of Beverly and Bartie Shields... Born July 10, 1985.

Overview

Standout lower level prospect who was invited to the NFL Combine despite missing all but the first game of the 2007 season due to a knee injury. Shields will have to prove his knee has healed to have any shot at getting drafted, of course, but when healthy he has shown the combination of size, strength, burst, straight-line speed and reliable hands to surprise at the next level - just as the last Spider to earn an invitation to the Combine (veteran linebacker Shawn Barber) has.

High School

Earned All-Conference honors after leading his team to its first conference championship under head coach Kenny Lucas in 2002... Made 26 receptions for 350 yards and five touchdowns as a senior... Recorded 22 tackles, four pass break-ups and one interception for the Conference's top-ranked defense... Also helped lead the track team to a conference title.

Analysis

Positives: Lanky frame with room for additional growth. ... Has the straight-line speed to challenge deep and is able to generate consistent separation from defenders due to his burst out of his breaks and effective upper body fakes. ... Reliable receiver who catches the ball with his hands. ... Hard-worker who takes his role as a downfield blocker seriously.

Negatives: Has to prove he has recovered from the knee injury that limited him to only one game in 2007 (Vanderbilt). ... Adequate physical tools in all areas, but may lack the special speed or burst to operate effectively against elite competition. ... Marginal quickness off the snap and can be re-routed with physical coverage. ... Struggled tracking passes over his shoulder.

Growing up, who was your favorite NFL player and why?

Jerry Rice because of his work ethic.

In college, what player hit you the hardest? Who was the recipient of your best hit?

Catching the winning touchdown in triple overtime against Hofstra in 2005; Being named the Godfather of my niece.

What TV-show marathon will keep you on the couch all day?

Martin and the Jamie Foxx Show

What are the five most-played songs in your iPod? What's the one song you hope nobody ever finds out is in your iPod?

Any Lil' Wayne song or Sizzla. All of my songs are on point.

What celebrity would play you in the movie version of your life and why?

Denzel Washington because he brings a lot of emotion to the screen.

What is one thing your teammates don't know about you?

They don't know the hard work I put in off the field to make myself better.

What reality TV show would you like to be on and why?

Real World because it looks like a lot of fun.

What's your proudest moment in football? Proudest moment off the field?

They don't know the hard work I put in off the field to make myself better.

When you play Madden, what team do you use? Do you put yourself on the team?

Don't play

Who has been the biggest influence on your football career and how?

My dad for teaching me how to push my body and what hard work is. Coach Toby Settles, he gave me my first knowledge on being a wide out along with drills. Caoch Latrell Scott he made me a smarter player and he also taught me how to push myself at the college level.