The Oakland Raiders selected quarterback JaMarcus Russell with the No 1 selection in the National Football League draft on Saturday.

Russell's selection marked the sixth time in seven years that a quarterback has been taken with the top overall pick.

And it filled a gap at the key position that has haunted the Raiders for the past few seasons.

Russell declared for the draft after his junior year at Louisiana State University.

NFL scouts tabbed him as having the strongest arm they have seen since Michael Vick was drafted No 1 overall in 2001.

Russell is not as fast as Vick, but he's bigger and stronger than the Atlanta Falcons' explosive quarterback and outplayed quarterback Brady Quinn in LSU's 41-14 victory over Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.

Russell's ability to throw on the run makes him a perfect fit for Oakland, which yielded a league-high 72 sacks last season. Russell passed for 3,129 yards and 28 touchdowns while completing nearly 68 percent of his passes last season.

Raiders owner Al Davis passed on quarterbacks Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Leinart and Jay Cutler in the last three NFL drafts and his team has paid for it.

Finding a franchise quarterback was clearly the biggest need for the Raiders, who are 15-49 since losing Super Bowl 27 after the 2002 season.

Oakland had just seven touchdown passes from its quarterbacks last season. That's 24 less than running back LaDainian Tomlinson scored for the San Diego Chargers.

The Raiders set franchise records for most losses (14) and fewest points scored (10.5 per game) last season.

(China Daily via AFP April 30, 2007)