In the weeks following last year’s draft, there were rumors the Raiders would have taken either Michael Penix Jr. or Bo Nix with the no. 13 pick if they had been available.
Denver radio host Benjamin Allbright was one of the first to report the Raiders were interested in Nix and based on comments from former GM Tom Telesco, it sounds like he was probably right.
In a podcast appearance on Thursday, Telesco talked about the quarterbacks he was interested in 2024 and if any of them would have been drafted by the Raiders ahead of Brock Bowers.
Asked specifically if the Raiders would have drafted Penix, it sounds like Telesco and company were leaning away from the former University of Washington quarterback.
“We did a lot of work and talked a lot about [drafting Penix], but in the end, probably not,” Telesco said on the Check the Mic podcast.
“Now looking back had I known I had only one year there, maybe that would have been different. I don’t know,” Telesco added with a smile.
It wasn’t much of a secret a year ago, but Jayden Daniels was the one quarterback Telesco said the Raiders would have traded up to get in 2024.
“Jayden Daniels. That would have been easy,” Telesco said.
“But then when we got into J.J. McCarthy, Bo Nix and Michael Penix, as far as trading up for those guys, that I was not as much into. To give up that many assets, because we were going to have to give up a lot of draft picks. We needed as many as possible to try to build up the team. So that would have been a hard move to make to trade up for one of those quarterbacks… other than Jayden Daniels that was going to be a non-starter.”
Telesco pointed to injury concerns around Penix as a concern but added that drafting Nix was in consideration.
“Bo Nix, his background of work, his durability, his movement skills. That one was interesting, and he’s gone to the perfect team. That would have been a good possibility,” Telesco said.
The popular opinion has been that if Brock Bowers hadn’t been available at pick 13, the Raiders would have taken Oregon State offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga, but from Telesco himself, it sounds like the Nix was definitely someone that might have ended up in Las Vegas if the Broncos had not drafted him.
All things considered, it’s hard to argue with the moves Telesco made in the draft last year.
Tight end might not have been a position of need for the Raiders, but adding a rookie All Pro at almost any position in the first round is defensible.
Former All Pro Greg Olsen knows a thing or two about playing the tight end position in the NFL and he had strong words for Raiders’ tight end Brock Bowers last week on the Pardon My Take podcast.
Talking about the NFL’s crop of emerging young tight ends, Olsen said Bowers has a physical skill set that is rarely seen, even at the sport’s highest level.
“He’s amazing. I remember the first time I watched him play, you saw a 6’5 white guy playing in the SEC running through the secondary and nobody was catching him,” Olsen said about Bowers. “That is just unique, to be that tall, that long, super linear, in that conference, and you look like the fastest guy on the field. If he was able to come out of the draft after his second year… He would have been a top 10 pick,” Olsen said.
“He’s uniquely talented. I’ll be interested to see how that plays out now with the new regime and Pete Carroll,” Olsen continued. “Geno loves his tight ends, but they are going to run the ball… As far as just a talent, I think he’s the best tight end prospect to come out of the draft in the last 10-15 years. His rookie year matched it, if not exceeded it, which was pretty incredible.”
Bowers broke the NFL’s rookie reception record in 2024 with 112 receptions for 1,194 yards and five touchdowns and set the mark with a wealth of inconsistent play at the quarterback position in his first NFL season.
x: @raidersbeat