ALAMEDA, Calif. -- The Oakland Raiders traded 2005 first-round pick Fabian Washington to the Baltimore Ravens for a fourth-round selection in the NFL draft on Sunday.
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.
With the Raiders having traded for Pro Bowl cornerback DeAngelo Hall earlier in the offseason, Washington became expendable. Washington had five interceptions and 28 passes defensed in his three seasons in Oakland.
Following the trade, only two of the seven players the Raiders selected in the first round from 2001-05 remain with the team.
Offensive lineman Robert Gallery, the second overall pick in 2004, has failed to become the dominant tackle the Raiders envisioned when they selected him, but showed some signs of playing well at guard last season.
Nnamdi Asomugha, the 31st pick in 2003, has become one of the top cover cornerbacks in the league.
Oakland previously traded both of its 2002 picks, linebacker Napoleon Harris and cornerback Phillip Buchanon. Defensive lineman Tyler Brayton, the team's second first-round pick in 2003, left as a free agent this offseason, while 2001 top pick Derrick Gibson is out of the NFL.
Oakland took receiver Arman Shields out of Richmond with the pick acquired for Washington. 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.
The Raiders made another trade earlier in the fourth round, moving up four spots to take defensive back Tyvon Branch of Connecticut with the first pick in the round. Branch, the fastest cornerback at the combine, is projected as a special teams player and can also play safety. The speedster averaged 28.9 yards per kick return. Oakland gave up one of its two seventh-round picks to Dallas to take Branch.
Oakland later took defensive end Trevor Scott from Buffalo in the sixth round.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
