Worthless AJ McCarron Trade With Bills Somehow Worked Out for the Raiders

Right when it was trendy and funny to make fun of Jon Gruden for being old school, the Oakland Raiders bizarrely decided to trade a fifth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft away to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for quarterback AJ McCarron, who lasted just one season as Derek Carr's backup before landing with the Houston Texans.

Oddly enough, the McCarron trade actually ended up being a major benefit to the Raiders considering what they did in the 2019 Draft.

Oakland re-acquired that slot after trading down from the 38th selection in the draft to the 40th pick in a deal with the Bills. Buffalo picked Oklahoma offensive tackle Cody Ford, while Oakland selected Clemson corner Trayvon Mullen.

Later in that draft, Oakland sent that fifth-rounder and a seventh-rounder to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for the 149th overall pick, which became another Clemson Tiger after they added wide receiver Hunter Renfrow.

The two players the Cowboys picked with the selections they acquired, cornerback Michael Jackson and running back Mike Weber, are no longer on the roster.

The Raiders looked like chumps after trading a fifth-rounder for a backup who would only play one season for them, but they managed to turn that pick into a pair of Clemson stars that became the team's starting cornerback and slot wide receiver as rookies. Not a bad move by Gruden here.