 Following the 1987 season, McDaniel was considered one of the nation's top players in man-to-man coverage, and was ranked the number two cornerback by "The Sporting News".He was selected by the Los Angeles Raiders in first round (9th overall pick) of the 1988 NFL Draft.He missed most of his rookie year with a broken leg, but saw extensive play in the following nine seasons with the Raiders, initially in Los Angeles and later in Oakland.