How bad did the Raiders want Henry Ruggs III at pick 12?
Pretty bad.
The below transcript is an account of the Buccaneers draft given by NBC Sports’ Peter King. Buccaneers GM Jason Licht allowed King to join the Tampa Bay virtual draft room and King detailed the efforts Licht made to trade ahead of the Raiders and eventually with the Raiders (a trade that never happened).
From King’s Football Morhning in America column on Monday:
“Frustration. Licht stays pretty cool, but he’s tensing up. Nobody wants to trade—for anything! When’s the last time the draft was 11 picks deep without a trade? The Raiders (12) are next. The Bucs are sure they’ll take a receiver, which makes them a good target. Mayock knows the Bucs, at 14, won’t want a receiver. To the Cisco gang Licht says: “I like giving ‘em the three and four and getting back their three. (Tampa trading 14, 76 and 117 and getting 12 and 81 back.) Much debate back and fourth. Just offer the four, someone suggests. Our three, five and six and they give us their three back, another suggests.
- Jets take Louisville tackle Mekhi Becton. Raiders on the clock.
9:29. Voice on Cisco: “Minnesota [22] just called.” Licht, suddenly: “Too far back. No.”
9:30. Suddenly, a distant “MOMMY!!!!!!” Seriously. One of the three kids yelled for Mom, and it’s audible in the room. Licht stares at a screen. He never heard it.
9:32. Licht takes a moment. Raiders on the clock. Should he up the offer? Yes. He will. He calls Mayock and offers three, five and six while getting a three back. “Okay. Okay. Thanks Mike.” Licht hangs up and tells the Cisco group: “Doesn’t matter what we offer. They’re staying.” You can sense the disbelief. Later, Licht said: “Everybody was looking at each other on the videoconference, kind of putting their hands up, like, I don’t know what the hell’s going on here. Nobody wants to give us their pick. I was getting a little bit antsy, I should say.”
9:33. Thinking. Staring. No talk. Two minutes go by. Niners are next
Raiders take wide receiver Henry Ruggs.”
The biggest takeaway in all that is the Raiders unwillingness to even negotiate a trade with Tampa Bay. Mayock didn’t even give the Bucs an opportunity to make their best offer.
The only explanation for that?
Well, maybe a bad internet connection, but still one phrase stood out from the others…
“Doesn’t matter what we offer. They’re staying.”
One other note from King’s column. It has been reported that the Raiders were looking to move back to pick 14. Based on the account above, that wasn’t actually the case.
twitter: @raidersbeat
I’m glad we picked & stayed with ruggs. I give our draft an A++ great job team. I like the free agents we picked up. I hope we’re able to produce & conquer. Let’s keep up the good work and goooo RAIDERSSSSSSSS!!!!!!
Raiders should have made the trade. I think they were too afraid the 49ers would take Ruggs, but at the time I don’t believe they would have, preferring either Lamb or Jeudy, as most teams would. As it turns out the 49ers took a DL first and a receiver at #25.
Once again, Gruden blinded by speed.
Who did the Bucs want? I mean we would have gotten Ruggs at 14 anyways, right?
I don’t really believe that the raiders ever wanted to move back of 12. They would have went from 11 to 1 but not other way. At 19 they might have been swayed a little bit to move to maybe 25 and get a second rounder in return and give up one of their 3rd rounders if Jalen Hurts was still available
Interesting insight on the the Bucs. Interested in why the Broncos haven’t appeared to be interested in a an ILB the last 2 years. Last year they gave Devin Bush to Pit by trading down.
Again stop with the false reporting. Mayock wasnt interested or how Mayock did not even give Bucs a chance blah blah blah. For the millionth time MAYOCK DOES NOT N WILL NOT HAVE ANY DECISION MAKING AUTHORITY OTHER THAN WHAT GRUDEN GIVES HIM. Gruden makes every decision PERIOD!
U bogus media reporters need to begin providing truthful info or find another line of work – how about working for government reporting false data on Covid. Oh wait there are many already doing that.