Las Vegas fired former general manager Tom Telesco after one season, even though he had just registered one of the Raiders’ best draft hauls in the last decade. Telesco was replaced by John Spytek, who had many decisions to make regarding a roster that needed change.
Last offseason, the Raiders added what appears to be a generational tight end in Brock Bowers and two solid additions to their offensive line in DJ Glaze and Jackson Powers-Johnson. Still, the Raiders need another solid offseason to pair with last offseason’s.
Spytek recently spoke at the NFL Combine about the types of players the Raiders are looking for in the draft process, as well as free agency. Along with talented players, Spytek noted the Raiders will take a player’s character into consideration when making decisions.
“I’m going to dance around this. We won four games last year, and we’ve got to be realistic with that. We’ve got a lot of really good young players, I think,” Spytek said. “We’ve got some good veteran players, and we’ve just got to add quality humans and competitors to this roster wherever we can. And to me that’s the biggest thing is like some guys that will do the harder thing longer than the person across from them, and we’ll be in a good spot.”
Spytek and the Raiders are in a relatively good spot. They have one of the top picks in the upcoming NFL Draft and nearly $100 million to spend before Maxx Crosby’s extension. The Raiders’ front office must do its due diligence and bring in the right players this summer.
The Raiders are only a few more quality draft picks and free-agent signings away from assembling a competitive team. If they approach things the right way and stay healthy, there is reason to believe the Raiders may begin to turn things around next season.