As his first draft with the Las Vegas Raiders approaches, general manager Tom Telesco isn’t worried. Through experience gained in dozens of NFL Drafts since the early 1990s, he’s refined his approach.
“I think if you prepare well enough, it shouldn’t be stressful,” Telesco said Monday.
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The Raiders hold pick No. 13 — along with seven other picks — heading into the start of the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday. Telesco has been tight-lipped about his plans, but he’s operating with a build-through-the-draft ideology when it comes to attempting to improve a roster coming off back-to-back losing seasons.
When Telesco was hired, the Raiders’ pro scouting staff was already well into its preparations for free agency. As Telesco worked to get up to speed, he leaned on holdovers from the previous staff to formulate the team’s plan. When free agency began in March, they landed the top defensive player on their board in Christian Wilkins.
The rest of their veteran acquisitions this offseason, however, have been complementary pieces: quarterback Gardner Minshew, running back Alexander Mattison, tight end Harrison Bryant and guard Cody Whitehair. They still have over $22.5 million in cap space, according to Over the Cap, but they haven’t been in a rush to use it. While Telesco is aligned with coach Antonio Pierce in wanting to compete in 2024, he’s taking a more patient approach.
🔴🎥 Live: General Manager Tom Telesco addresses the media prior to the 2024 NFL Draft from the Intermountain Health Performance Center. https://t.co/IIPQrAhR5R
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) April 22, 2024
The Raiders roster has plenty of flaws, and the most prudent way to fix that is through an influx of young, inexpensive, ascending players. Going into the draft, their most glaring positions of need appear to be offensive line, cornerback and quarterback.
Naturally, what the Raiders choose to address in the first round will be dependent on how their draft board plays out. At pick 13, it’s difficult to project what their options may be.
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Let’s start with quarterback. This is a strong class of prospects led by Caleb Williams (USC), Drake Maye (North Carolina), Jayden Daniels (LSU) and J.J. McCarthy (Michigan). The issue is all of them are expected to be off the board by No. 13. The Raiders have made calls about potentially trading up in the first round to draft a quarterback, according to a league source with knowledge of the conversations, but pulling that off won’t be easy.
All signs point to the Chicago Bears (No. 1) and Washington Commanders (No. 2) staying put and drafting quarterbacks. The New England Patriots (No. 3) are expected to do the same, but de facto GM Eliot Wolf said last week they’re “open for business” to trade the pick. That could be a spot where the Raiders try to swing a trade, but it’ll be difficult to outbid the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings also need a quarterback, hold two first-round picks this year — Nos. 11 and 23 — and also have all of their future first-round picks.
Along with the Vikings, the New York Giants (No. 6) and Denver Broncos (No. 12) are two more quarterback-needy teams ahead of the Raiders that may also try to jump up. And, of course, the Patriots may not trade the pick at all.
The Raiders could attempt to trade with the Arizona Cardinals (No. 4) or Los Angeles Chargers (No. 5). Or, if those teams stay put, they could call the Giants, Tennessee Titans (No. 7), Atlanta Falcons (No. 8), Bears (No. 9) or New York Jets (No. 10). Again, though, they would likely have to outbid multiple other teams to do so.
It’s unlikely Telesco would be willing to pay the necessary price to make that happen, multiple league sources said. When asked last month about the idea of trading up for a quarterback, Pierce said, “everything’s on the table” and may push to go get one, but Telesco ultimately has the final say over roster decisions.
The Raiders could also trade down, but Telesco never traded down — in any round — in 11 years as the Chargers GM. That’s probably not changing this year.
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If the Raiders stay at No. 13, there could be intriguing quarterbacks available. The Giants, Vikings or Broncos may change things, but Michael Penix Jr. (Washington) and Bo Nix (Oregon) are likely to still be available. Although the Raiders like both players, they’re unlikely to take either that high, league sources said.
It’s important to keep in mind that the Raiders signed Minshew to a two-year, $25 million contract to compete with Aidan O’Connell. That means they don’t have to force it in the draft. Plus, Penix and/or Nix may be still on the board in the second round at pick No. 44. Even if they aren’t, the Raiders could target a player like Spencer Rattler (South Carolina) in the third round at pick No. 77.
Given that context, the more probable first-round scenario is the Raiders staying at pick No. 13 and taking the best player available at another position of need. The two positions that make the most sense are offensive tackle and cornerback.
The Raiders are high on the offensive tackle class, in particular, according to league sources. They believe Thayer Munford is capable of becoming a full-time starter at right tackle this season, but that won’t prevent them from adding a rookie at the position. Some notable prospects who may be available at No. 13 are Troy Fautanu (Washington), Olu Fashanu (Penn State), JC Latham (Alabama) and Taliese Fuaga (Oregon State). If they decide to wait until later in the draft, there’s internal belief they could still find a player in the second round who can compete with Munford.
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The cornerback class isn’t considered to be as deep. Given the Raiders still lack a clear answer for the starting outside cornerback job opposite Jack Jones — neither Jakorian Bennett nor Brandon Facyson showed they could fill that role last season — it’d make sense to target the position early. Keep an eye on Quinyon Mitchell (Toledo) and Terrion Arnold (Alabama) if they’re available when the Raiders come on the board in the first round.
Whether it ends up being an offensive tackle or cornerback, the Raiders are confident they can stay at 13 and land a player who fills a position of need without having to reach. The focus on quarterback is understandable, but that’s not the only path to success.
Other positions where the Raiders could look to add depth include guard, receiver, running back and defensive line. That’s a lot to attempt to address in one draft class.
Due to NIL, more draft-eligible players have been returning to school than in recent years. Only 58 underclassmen declared for the draft this year, the lowest number since 2011. That has negatively impacted the depth of this draft class. It’d be important for the Raiders to hit on their high draft picks, anyway, but that’s even more imperative as the quality of Day 3 talent appears to be lower than usual.
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The Raiders will certainly have needs that remain after the draft. They only have 63 players on their roster. In the offseason, teams are allowed to carry up to 90. The Raiders will likely keep a few spots open for flexibility, and it remains to be seen how many players they end up drafting, but they’ll probably still need to fill 10 to 15 roster spots once the draft is over. Every team in the league signs a group of undrafted free agents, but the Raiders may add more than usual this year.
“That’s a very important part of the process,” Telesco said. “There’s going to be a lot of opportunities this year.”
The Raiders will likely also make more veteran additions either via free agency or trades. When factoring in the contracts for the rookie class, the Raiders have about $18.6 million in effective cap space, according to Over the Cap. That’s already a significant sum, but they’ll also free up another $24.07 million when the cap hit for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who was released with a post-June 1 designation last month, comes off the books on June 2.
In short, the Raiders will have a lot of money to spend. It won’t solely be used to make additions to the roster — it also could be used to extend players already on the roster or saved for in-season flexibility — but the point is they’ll have plenty of resources to do so.
Free agents typically get cheaper as the offseason goes on, but another element to consider is that signings made after 1 p.m. PT next Monday won’t count toward the NFL’s compensatory pick formula. According to Over the Capthe Raiders would be projected to receive a sixth-round pick and a seventh-round pick in 2025 if they don’t sign another free agent before then. Signing bargain-bin free agents and prioritizing those picks may not sound like a big deal, but it fits into Telesco’s long-term vision.
“Your needs change, and they’re unpredictable,” Telesco said. “A need we may have today may not be a need in August. … It’s hard to go into a draft just thinking about how we’re going to line up opening day. We have to take a little bit more of a long-range approach to it.”
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(Photo of Michael Penix Jr.: Kirby Lee / USA Today)
2024-04-24 23:02:41
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