The Raiders’ draft is going to look a little different this year, even if it’s not obvious from the outside.
It’s no secret that former head coach Pete Carroll and GM John Spytek were many times not in alignment in their single season together and a series of comments from The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen last week hinted at how that dynamic may have affected the 2025 draft.
“I’ve heard that last year he kind of shut people out, kind of went rogue and did his own thing,” The Athletic’s Nguyen said on the Just Win podcast of Spytek’s handling of the draft in 2025.
“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.”
Sometimes reports and rumors like these don’t fit the narrative coming out of the organization, but Spytek spoke to Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal this week and seemed to confirm some of what Nguyen said on his podcast.
Talking with Hill about what he learned from his first draft with the Raiders, Spytek acknowledged that he put more on himself a year ago than he plans to put on himself this year.
“I wrote a lot of things down that I learned in my first year and things that I screwed up in my first year,” Spytek said. “And we’re not going to change too much, but we’ve got some new faces in the draft room with us this year…”
Reading between the lines a little, it seems obvious Spytek didn’t have the people around him a year ago that he wanted.
“Not knowing everybody in the building, having my own vision that I was trying to teach to people about the way that we wanted to do it, how we wanted to build, the kind of person we were looking for, I think I tried to do too much,” Spytek continued. “I think it’s always important to really have great people around you and trust and empower them to do their jobs, to support you as well as they can. And it’s really not about me, it’s about the team and the Raiders and the best decisions. And I’m just very grateful to have a great group of people around me.”
In December, league insider Tony Pauline talked about Spytek’s role in the organization in his first year with the Raiders and said Carroll wasn’t the GM’s first choice to be the team’s head coach.
“According to sources, Spytek did not have much say in the hiring of Carroll,” Pauline reported on Monday.
Pauline also said the Ashon Jeanty pick didn’t come from Spytek’s corner of the building.
“Holding the sixth pick of the 2025 draft, the Raiders selected record-setting running back Ashton Jeanty of Boise State, a Carroll pick,” Pauline said. “I’m told there was pushback on the selection, as many in and around the organization believed a lineman was the way to go. Defensive tackle Mason Graham was a name making the rounds, as he was seen as a replacement for Wilkins, who the team knew they would be without in 2025. The Raiders had no opportunity to draft Graham, as the Browns selected him with the fifth choice.”
Whatever happened behind closed doors with the Raiders in 2025, it certainly seemed from the outside like Carroll wasn’t a good fit for the vision shared by Spytek and minority owner Tom Brady.
For his part, Carroll didn’t have his most impressive coaching performance on the field, either.
The good news though, is that Carroll and his hand-picked quarterback led the Raiders to a 3-14 record and that was good enough to earn the no. 1 pick in the 2026 draft.
Hoping to lose with the same formula (presumably), the New York Jets signed Geno Smith in the offseason and if all goes according to the plan in New York, the Jets will hold the no. 1 pick in next year’s draft.
x: @raidersbeat
REVISED DRAFT BASED ON NEW PROJECTIONS….
1. FERNANDO MENDOZA
2. DANI DENNIS-SUTTON
3. MIKE WASHINGTON JR.
4. KEVIN COLEMAN JR.
5. JUDE BOWRY
6. JAEDEN ROBERTS
7. ZANE DURANT
8. VJ PAYNE
9. ANDRE FULLER
10. ERIC GENTRY
Dennis-Sutton is a late 2nd Round, too much of a reach for us there. DT, CB, or S, will be more porocductive.
Did he go rogue when he listened to the coach or when he didn’t listen to the scouts? Is this kinda of an admission that A. Jeanty wouldn’t be a Raider if the GM listened to the correct people?
He said he did too much last year and it’s pretty apparent he did way to little.
What the hell was he doing in TB all that time? Not scouting? Not understanding how to rebuild a roster? Only understanding how to be his old roommates dog and pony?
Last year was abysmal and we know Mark is done taking blame and certainly it’s not Tommy’s fault. It’s kinda hard to blame the senile old coach for everything. So at some point Spytek will have to admit his 1st draft was pathetic. A small RB at #6 overall was grounds for dismissal alone not to mention all of the other overdrafted players.
So this year will be different? Let’s trade the heart of the team for 2 1st rounders and not make the other team give the physical before free agency starts!! Nice move since He overpaid for every free agent he signed. Terrible roster building through 1+ years.
Exactly, he sounds like am imbecile. You’re the one in charge Spytek. I mean it makes sense that he would want Membou over Jeanty due to his time in Tampa but he also said that stupid crap about his kids wanting Jeanty.
His best pick maybe Grant, but it’s way too early. His first draft, and free agency, was a complete joke. Bech showed zero skills last year….And yes I wanted Lindebaum this offseason but he came here for the payday
It was a terrible play by the Raiders. You hire a first time GM, who thought he was going to be paired with the hottest OC, Ben Johnson, on the market. Only, Tommy Boy couldn’t deliver the goods, in fact he was played like school boy in short pants. So Marki Mark did what he does best, throw a bunch of lettuce to another washed up NFL Galapagos Tortoise, who was looking to give his hatchlings a professional lifeline. So Spytek is the golden boy’s yes man, and I think that’s what he did last year, sing along with the chorus, and try not to hit any bad notes. I feel like we didn’t learn anything about this guy, he rarely spoke publicly. I like what’s going on this year, Spytek is football nerd, and i think we ought to give him a window to do his thing. He ain’t much of a personality, I’ll give you that. This is a ground up rebuild. we haven’t even had a pads on practice, or the draft, and guys are busting his cojones. Did you notice the Free Agents we just brought in? The league is taking note, everyone is noticing the change, get on the bus gentlemen, it’s a long journey, bring an extra cushion it might be a bumpy ride.
Carroll not being Spytek’s choice for head coach is reassuring.