DT McGlockton Was a Standout No. 1 Pick for the Raiders

In the illustrious history of the Oakland, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas Raiders, Defensive tackle Chester McGlockton is one of the greatest first-round picks ever.

Defensive tackle Chester McGlockton was one of the best first-round draft choices in the history of the Las Vegas-Oakland-Los Angeles Raiders.

The Raiders selected the 6-4 334-pounder with the 16th overall pick of the 1992 NFL Draft out of Clemson, where he was a star right from his freshman season when he forced West Virginia quarterback Major Harris to fumble and recovered the ball in the end zone for the final touchdown as the Tigers beat West Virginia, 27-7, in 1989 Gator Bowl.

McGlockton was a freshman All-American named All-Atlantic Coast Conference as a senior when Clemson went 9-2-1 and won the ACC title.

Then he came to the Raiders and got even better.

“There was no one in the NFL who could block Chester if he didn’t want to be blocked,” Raiders All-Pro guard Steve Wisniewski said of his teammate. “He had that ability to be a dominant force like Mean Joe Greene. He was as good as they come.”

After making 18 tackles and three sacks as a part-time player as a rookie, McGlockton moved in as a starter in his second season with the Raiders and immediately was productive, making 79 total tackles, seven sacks, returning an interception 19 yards for a touchdown, and adding a fumble recovery.

His best seasons came when he made 62 total tackles and 9.5 sacks in addition to forcing three fumbles in 1994, and he had 60 tackles plus eight sacks plus three more forced fumbles two seasons later. He made at least seven sacks in each season between 1993 and 1996.

McGlockton kept improving, making 340 tackles, recording 39½ sacks, forcing 10 fumbles, and recovering another five over 90 games in his six seasons with the Silver and Black. He had four seasons with at least seven sacks, including a career-high 9.5 in 1994, was selected to the Pro Bowl in his last four years with the Raiders, and was a three-time All-Pro, from 1994-96.

In addition, McGlockton controlled the middle to make it easier on standout defensive ends Howie Long and Greg Townsend.

“It’s like we’ve known each other our whole lives,” said Long, who moved McGlockton into his home for two months in 1992. “We socially just grew closer together off the field. He doesn’t see color; I don’t see color. I don’t see geography; he doesn’t see geography. We call it the way it is.

“He has a lot going for him and I would like to see him become a great, great player. I would like to see him become the next Howie Long here. He can take that and take it even further. He has that kind of ability.”

Unfortunately, McGlockton left the Raiders in a contract dispute in 1998 and signed with the Kansas City Chiefs, for whom he played three seasons, before finishing his NFL career with two for the Denver Broncos and one with the New York Jets before retiring after the 1993 season.

However, he never again reached the heights he achieved with the Raiders.

In his 12-season NFL career, McGlockton made 526 tackles, 51 sacks, and forced 14 fumbles in addition to recovering nine, plus making four pass interceptions.

McGlockton, an assistant coach at Tennessee in 2009 and Stanford in 2010, tragically died suddenly at 42 from the consequences of left ventricular hypertrophy when he was still a Cardinal assistant on Nov. 30, 2011.

“Chester was a great guy, good man, doing the right things,” then Stanford Coach Jim Harbaugh said. “He was helping a lot of people. We’re really going to miss him. To say he was coming into his own as a coach would be understating it. He had already blossomed. He was so positive with the players and with the other coaches. He always had coaching advice or spiritual advice, a smile for you.”

The coroner’s report said McGlockton had an enlarged heart.

The Raiders' offseason workout schedule is as follows:

OTA Offseason workouts: May 22-23, May 25, May 31-June 2, June 12-15

Mandatory Minicamp: June 6-8

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