5 takeaways from Raiders GM Tom Telesco’s pre-draft press conference
With the draft days away, the Raiders made their GM Tom Telesco available to answer questions from the media. I compiled a few quotes from Telesco that stood out to me and discuss.
1. On if he’s been speaking with teams about trading the pick at 13:
“News flash GM says he’s open to trade up, moving back, picking at a spot. Everybody always says the same thing. We have a plan right now to go up if we have to and be aggressive with it, we got a plan to stick and pick obviously. And we got a plan to go back if it’s within in a certain range. It’s been normal this year just like other years. There’s been conversations with other team, but it’s probably more general than specific. Really wouldn’t get more specific until later in the process — Tuesday, Wednesday, even Thursday and sometimes when you’re on the clock. But it’s been the same amount of work that goes into that.”
My take: This is more for those who will try and make this quote a bigger deal than it is. Telesco almost rolls his eyes with his response because it’s one of those questions that is asked every year and he’s entering his 11th year doing this. They have a plan in place. They’d be derelict in their duties heading into this draft if they weren’t.
THAT BEING SAID: The name most discussed with regard to the Raiders is Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. Some think he is a reach at 13, while others have been talking about that the Raiders may have to trade up to get him. Technically both can be true because if there is a position to reach for it’s QB. And that goes for all teams with a need there, for which there are many.
2. His thoughts on more seasoned prospects in this draft — seniors and super seniors:
“I don’t have a problem with it. I think it’s good. The longer players stay in school, the better. They get farther with their education and hopefully finish and graduate and they get to keep working on their craft and become a better player. So, I think it’s good for everybody.”
My take: This is not the first time Telesco has commented on this. He was asked about it at the combine and had a similar answer.I think he’s genuine in that. Especially being in charge of a team that needs help right now to compete. The Raiders aren’t in the position to be taking players who aren’t NFL ready right now.
Who knows what will happen after their rookie deal is up. What he needs to think about is the talent level of the guys he’s getting right now, so some of these guys who are 4, 5, and 6 years removed from high school could be very valuable. Perhaps even more so than these raw supposed “high ceiling” guys.
3. On drafting for need or best player available:
“That’s the question every year. You try and balance it out, but the biggest thing is your needs change and they’re unpredictable. A need we may have today, may not be a need in August. We may have a player in the building right now who needs to develop and grow and fills that need. We may have a position group that feels really strong today and then we get to September or October and it’s not that strong.
“The story I’ve told here is, I guess it would be my first year with the Chargers. Our roster needed a lot of work, but I felt like our receiver group was the strongest group on the football team. So, we’re in the draft, we’re in the third round, and Keenan Allen’s card is just staring at us. Just begging us to take him. And so we decided ‘all right, we’ll take him, but more like probably redshirt him the first year, we don’t really have a spot for him, he may be inactive every week.’ And then we get into May OTA’s and one receiver gets hurt. We get into training camp and another receiver didn’t really perform the way he thought he would. And then in September another receiver got hurt, Keenan jumps in the game in September and he’s Rookie of the Year that year.
“So, like I said, your needs change quickly. Not predictably. So, it’s hard to go into a draft just thinking how we’re going to line up this opening day. We have to take a little bit more of a long range approach to it, four or five years down the road, rather than just how they fit today.”
My take: This is an argument mostly in favor of depth, which is one that gets overlooked a lot in draft analysis. It’s interesting that he uses wide receiver as his example here, because I think that’s the position that is getting overlooked as a need for the team right now.
They have Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers right now and they’re great. After that they have unproven Tre Tucker taking over in the slot and not much else. That means if anyone goes down, they are in trouble.
Not only that, Adams and Meyers’ contracts are structured in such a way that both will either leave or be in need of a restructure after this season. All this means receiver should not be ignored as a need on this team.
4. On qualities he looks for in prospects:
“It’s really the work ethic and preparation part of it. The league is so talented. Like with Joey [Bosa] I remember at the combine he was competing with those drills like it was a game day. He was just soaked in sweat. He was focused on every single drill he did. He’d go back to the bench and sit down, just kind of preparing for the next drill. That meant more than the actual times and how the drills looked, just watching how he works.
“Justin Herbert was similar. Where he just attacked everything like it was so important. And especially with the quarterback preparation is so big. In this league it’s got to be more than just talent, you got to have some other things to go alone with that because everybody is so good. And you’ve got to keep developing and proving over time. You can’t level out in this league or else someone passes you by.”
My take: He picked the right team for that. A group led by the ultimate work ethic player, Maxx Crosby, who brings along others as well to try and match his level. So, Telesco has all the proof he needs in his own building just what hard work and relentless dedication can create. Antonio Pierce has been here longer, so he may even value it more.
5. On carryover from last year:
“I’ve always said whatever happens in the last season, it really doesn’t carry over to the next year. Every year is new and different. But I will say the culture that was built late in the year last year, I’ve seen it in the offseason program. There are so many players here in January and February which is not really common where I’ve been in the past. I think that was built at the end of the year last year, so I do think that carries over. A lot of that has to do with our head coach as far as what he’s building around us and players that are here have built. I do think there’s some carryover there.”
My take: The harkens back to the previous quote about work ethic and preparation. These players are excited. Led by Crosby and guys like Robert Spillane and Jack Jones. Spillane recently said the defensive mindset is at an “all time high”. They are ready to pick up where they left off last season under Antonio Pierce.
