We know the draftniks weren’t impressed with the Raiders draft, but what did the Raiders think of their own draft?
Well, according to NFL Network’s Mike Silver, Jon Gruden and company are “ecstatic” about the way the draft played out.
Of course that’s what every team says after the draft, but these were Silver’s words in talking about the Raiders draft haul:
“You can tell that Jon Gruden is in charge because they took so many risks. The previous regime was certainly a lot more risk averse and as one person in the front office put it, “We have some toys to play with that we wouldn’t have had otherwise…
Jon Gruden after taking that $100 million deal spent a lot of time inside that building complaining about the roster, how it was not up to the standard he felt could be competitive.
[Gruden] is a little bit happy right now after a draft haul that they are ecstatic about. I know people on twitter or maybe amateur draft evaluation communities people weren’t as pumped, but as far as what the Raiders had on their list, they are very, very psyched.”
I talked @RAIDERS and @AZCardinals and Gruden and @josh3rosen on @nflnetwork … and my annoying dog weighed in at the end 🤷🏻♂️ pic.twitter.com/ANEWWRNlal
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) April 30, 2018
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that a team would love their own draft, but at the very least, the Raiders filled their most significant needs. That method doesn’t always produce the highest draft “grades” but as long as Gruden and the gang didn’t reach too much, it shouldn’t be a problem.
One other note in Silver’s video link above is the Raiders excitement about second-round pick P.J. Hall – they seem particularly enthusiastic about him.
twitter: @raidersbeat