Prior to the draft, the Raiders were considered by many to be one of the top candidates to trade up and take a quarterback.
It didn’t play out that way on Thursday night and based on comments from GM Tom Telesco, the Raiders didn’t make much of an effort to move up for a quarterback.
How hard did the Raiders try to trade up?
“Not particularly hard,” Telesco told members of the media on Thursday night.
Georgia tight end Brock Bowers wasn’t a player the Raiders expected to fall to them at pick 13, and Telesco confirmed that Bowers was the best player available according to their draft board.
“You try and stick to [drafting the best player available] when you can,” Telesco said. “It’s harder than you think sometimes because you’re adding to the football team, and we know where we are today. We are looking for today and the future. But a player like Brock, just the scouting staff, where they have him, what they thought about him, what the coaching staff thought. He’s really a pretty consensus guy.”
Looking ahead to day 2 of the draft, it will be interesting to see what the Raiders do. Bowers didn’t necessarily fill a need on the roster, but he fits perfectly into the run-heavy scheme that offensive coordinator Luke Getsy is expected to employ.
Offensive tackle and cornerback are considered the Raiders top two positions of need going forward, and no one would complain if they added another quarterback to the mix.
twitter: @raidersbeat
He’s a generational talent and a total stud but we just got out stud last draft! We really needed an right side OT. Saints got the guy we should have taken who is also a huge talent and would have anchored the right side for many years. I’m sure they must be comfortable with the second tier of guys we can fill the gaps with. Having Bowers definitely would hurt us.
What a lousy pick. Are they really trying to spin that you don’t need an elite qb in this league to win?
You don’t install an in ground pool when you have a gapping hole in your roof. This was a luxury pick made to keep Telesco’s job as GM as opposed to helping the team and moving them forward. Thumbs down 100% Don’t buy into the spin doctors Raiders fans. This pick was not made to help the team it was made by a selfish and scared Telesco who knows he is on thin ice.
Brock Bowers was a great pick, I’d like to see us move up in round two!