Jamarcus Russel pretty much proves his entire point. He really came out of nowhere to become the first pick in the draft, he just rode a good sugar bowl performance and tons of media hype about how strong his arm was to a huge payday.
Came out of nowhere? He was a 5 Star QB coming out if high school and had several great years at a high profile program in LSU. He also had a great arm, was huge for a QB and had some mobility. He looked to be a guy with all the tools who excelled playing against the highest level competition and performed in the clutch.
What the scouts did not know is that once he got a big contract he would become lazy and eat himself out of the NFL. They, in particular Al Davis got enamored with his physical skills and ignored the part of his personality that would lead to him becoming fat and lazy.
His draft position was because of his physical skills and performance on the big stage at LSU. It had nothing to do with media hype.