Maybe the Raiders had good reason to unload most of their scouting department a week before the draft, but there will still be consequences.
To start, it probably wasn’t coincidence on Monday morning that Jon Gruden was once again strongly being linked to Kyler Murray.
“Jon Gruden loves Kyler Murray, I’m told,” ESPN’s Todd McShay said Monday of the Raiders head coach. “And [Gruden] does not necessarily love Derek Carr, I’m told, which is going to be the interesting thing to see.”
Since the scouts were sent home last week, there has also been a flurry of players linked to the Raiders. The scouts were given a week off (and likely much more), but they’re not going to sit on their phones until the draft. The question now is, how much did those scouts know about what general manager Mike Mayock and Gruden want to do before they were let go?
Probably enough.
Looking ahead to Thursday, the dream scenario for the Raiders is probably a trade back. Surely Quinnen Williams and Nick Bosa will be gone, and maybe Houston DT Ed Oliver is versatile enough that he’d be the pick at no. 4 overall, but Gruden and Mayock could get very creative by moving down a few spots and adding a little draft surplus. In that case, they would have the means to move up and down for the remainder of the first 2 days and come away with 5 or 6 of their first and second round targets.
For what it’s worth, the Raiders have zero picks between pick 35 and pick 106. One way or another, that’ll need to change.
There aren’t going to be as many witnesses to what goes on in the Raiders’ draft room this year. Scouts are out so not as many will have first-hand knowledge of the way Gruden and Mayock work together on draft decisions. Maybe that’s a good thing, but it might not be the worst idea to have owner Mark Davis in the room (as he usually is) to watch how business is being conducted. Everyone knows Gruden is running the show, but when it comes to the draft, the last thing Davis should want is too much Gruden and not enough Mayock.
The Raiders really need an edge rusher and, well, why does this sound so familiar?
Montez Sweat's enlarged heart situation is really interesting. He is off some boards, but other teams are okay with it.
As one team source told me: "We're comfortable. He'll just need yearly check-ups so we could monitor it."
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) April 22, 2019
Lastly, the Raiders official draft guide would sure be a bust if they take a quarterback in the first round… which they will not.
twitter: @raidersbeat
