Being a first-time general manager is likely harder than it’s given credit for. While their most important job is building a good roster, there are a ton of different things they are responsible for.
The Las Vegas Raiders hired John Spytek to take over the role last year, and while he did some things well, he also had some shortcomings in his first year. The team’s draft class didn’t show much last season, but there’s still a chance it can look like a good class in hindsight.
Either way, it sounds like the draft was mostly on Spytek. According to The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen, the general manager went “rogue” last year.
“I’ve heard that last year he kind of shut people out, kind of went rogue and did his own thing,” Nguyen said on the “Just Win” podcast.
“I think this year, having a whole year to work on the draft with his people preparing and everything, whereas last year he was kind of hired and had to go into the draft right away, not knowing everybody around him. He hired Brian Stark, the assistant GM, who was part of the presser after the draft last year. So he knows who he’s working with. This is his coach that he hired. It’s going to be a bit different with how he works with everyone and how he collaborates with everyone.”
Things Should Be Better For Spytek
Not only was Spytek a first-time general manager, but he was also working with head coach Pete Carroll, who is known to be involved in roster decisions. That’s a difficult situation for a first-time general manager, especially since Carroll’s track record with personnel is very poor.
Spytek now has a head coach, Klint Kubiak, who won’t have too much say in how he attacks the draft. Spytek comes from a scouting background, so he should rely much more heavily on his scouting department this time around. He also has more experience, and so does the staff around him. This year should be a much better indication of how Spytek is going to operate going forward.
Spytek Loves Offensive Linemen
Last year, the Raiders drafted two offensive linemen who didn’t end up playing much. Most mock drafts don’t have the team addressing the position during the first few rounds.
However, they might be overlooking that Spytek is a huge advocate for the offensive line. He recently spoke about how much he values the offensive line ahead of the draft.
“I’ve never been anywhere where you feel like you’ve got too many offensive linemen,” Spytek said during his pre-draft press conference. “They’re such a hard position to acquire. It’s almost impossible in free agency, it feels like, especially at certain positions. And just because we’ve added certain guys through free agency doesn’t mean that we won’t be looking for offensive linemen, too. I’m on record as saying they’re sexy as hell and I stand by that.”
While the first-round pick is likely spoken for, don’t be surprised if Spytek goes offensive line in the second round.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Eye-Opening Intel About John Spytek’s First Raiders Draft Revealed appeared first on Heavy Sports.