Welcome to the team: new GM Tom (Telescope) Telesco

Crow said:
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Was with the NYJ from 1997 to 2012, which was the NYJ last good run as a franchise.

Where does hiring Telesco’s former #2 leave Kelly in the hierarchy?
 
Sleet said:
Where does hiring Telesco’s former #2 leave Kelly in the hierarchy?
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I guess that's for the team to determine and the fanbase to lament for days and weeks, ultimately creating riffs among friends and families that can never be repaired, and wasting bandwidth for no reason but bragging rights when the decision is finally made....
 
Reading into things, seems like Champ being sent to the Senior Bowl is a healthy thing. TT keeps studying a roster Champ already knows. And as GM TT was studying these guys in Mobile for years anyway. So Champ watches practices, talks to guys and their coaches.

He comes back, the two talk about the current roster and impressions of guys in Mobile. Two guys who trust each other.

As for Telesco getting his # 2 from where he came from, he's surrounded by people he doesn't know and hasn't worked with -- right before the draft that defines his tenure. I see Champ secure, until he goes somewhere else.
 
Solve4X said:
Decent breakdown of the weak link's drafting.

twsn.net

Draft Tendencies the Las Vegas Raiders Can Expect From Tom Telesco

The Las Vegas Raiders hired Tom Telesco to lead the charge in their front office, giving him the extremely rare second chance that most general managers are not given in the NFL. Telesco had an up …
twsn.net twsn.net
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It's hard to take anything from that without providing a baseline to compare it to.

Is 2 first team all-pro selections disappointing? I have no idea.
 

Five things Raiders GM Tom Telesco has to figure out at the NFL Scouting Combine​


By Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed
4h ago

Las Vegas Raiders general manager Tom Telesco will break his monthlong silence and speak to reporters Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. He has let coach Antonio Pierce do all the talking since his hiring last month, and he has been plenty busy learning his new team’s roster and thinking of ways to help Pierce build a bully.

Telesco was fired by the Los Angeles Chargers last season, which gave owner Mark Davis the chance to hire the first experienced general manager since taking over for his late father in 2011. The first two, Reggie McKenzie and Mike Mayock, loved to trade down and acquire more picks, and Dave Ziegler last year was more aggressive moving up. The latter will likely be Telesco’s style, as he has never traded down before in 11 years of running the Chargers draft.

Which brings us to the first of five things on his plate this week:

The feasibility of trading up in the first round​

The Raiders own pick No. 13, a position that would leave them subject to a lot of external factors when it comes to landing the player they want. Whether that ends up being a quarterback or a player at another position, the Raiders would need to trade up to ensure they’re able to acquire them. Particularly if they become infatuated with a quarterback in this class, they should make every effort to go up and get him.

The Chicago Bears could be open to trading the No. 1 pick for the second year in a row, but their price will be even higher than it was last year. The Raiders were one of the teams in the mix to trade for the top selection in 2023, but Ziegler decided the price wasn’t worth it. The Raiders have a worse pick this year — they picked No. 7 last year — and that’ll make it harder to move up.

The 2024 draft class is considered stronger than last year’s and features three high-end quarterback prospects, Caleb Williams (USC), Drake Maye (North Carolina) and Jayden Daniels (LSU). It doesn’t help matters that the Bears, Washington Commanders (pick No. 2) and New England Patriots (pick No. 3) are all teams that have needs at quarterback and might be unwilling to trade back. Part of Telesco’s itinerary this week will be having conversations with other teams to give the Raiders a sense of whether making a move to climb up the draft board is a realistic option.

The ‘other’ quarterbacks in the draft​

Potentially missing out on Williams, Maye and Daniels doesn’t mean the Raiders will come out of the draft without a quarterback. The Athletic draft analyst Dane Brugler has also given a first-round grade to J.J. McCarthy (Michigan) and has Bo Nix (Oregon) and Michael Penix (Washington) rated as second-round prospects. The Raiders could stay put at pick No. 13 and take one of those players or hope one is still available when their second-round selection comes up at pick No. 44.

Of course, that would require the Raiders to get to the point where they believe one of those players can be their quarterback of the future. Telesco and Pierce are part of a first-year regime and might not feel pressure to tie themselves to a quarterback they aren’t fully sold on, especially with other options on the free-agent market. Williams, Maye and Daniels will draw most of the attention this week, but the Raiders will also do their due diligence in assessing their alternatives.

Do the Raiders need an impact defensive player?​

In an extreme shift from the last two decades, the strength of the Raiders team is the defense, thanks to the leadership of Maxx Crosby, the teamwork of defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and Pierce, the development of Malcolm Koonce and the addition of high-ceiling role players like Robert Spillane, Marcus Epps and Jack Jones. Crosby said Pierce gave Graham the green light to be more aggressive and that players fed off that.

Now what? Though the rotation of solid, veteran defensive tackles worked well last season, maybe drafting Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II at No. 13 makes more sense than trading future first-round picks for a quarterback. Murphy is a gifted pass rusher who can also stop the run. There are also a lot of talented cornerbacks this week in Indianapolis if the Raiders decide they don’t want to run it back with Jones, Nate Hobbs and Amik Robertson. Does Jakorian Bennett still fit in the plans? The Raiders have not done well drafting cornerbacks in the first three rounds since Nnamdi Asomugha in 2003, but that’s old news. Maybe they’ll fall in love with a prospect this week.

Will Josh Jacobs, Jermaine Eluemunor take less to come back?

The new NFL season officially starts March 13, and agents will be in Indianapolis buying general managers and coaches wine to try to finish up contract talks. It’s highly unlikely the Raiders place a franchise tag on Jacobs a second time, so they should try to see how serious he is about loving to play for Pierce as opposed to testing the free-agent market. Same with Eluemunor, who came on strong at the end of last season. But unlike running backs, veteran offensive tackles are coveted and fawned over every offseason.

Center Andre James and right guard Greg Van Roten are also free agents, and we might be looking at practically a brand-new offensive line. Is this the year guard Dylan Parham finally moves to center? What Telesco and the Raiders scouts see at workouts this week could go a long way in answering that.

This is the time to make a push​

When asked about the roster during his introductory news conference, Telesco was able to lean on the crutch that he hadn’t had time to fully evaluate what he had to work with. Going into the combine, that’s no longer the case. Although the Raiders certainly improved once Pierce took over, they were still only an 8-9 team in 2023. The offense struggled largely as a result of poor play at quarterback and along the offensive line. And though the defense excelled, there are still notable questions at defensive tackle and cornerback that need to be addressed this offseason. That’s a lot of needs that have to be filled, which raises the question of how quickly the Raiders feel they can do so.

Pierce thinks the Raiders are close enough to push to contend in 2024, so they could be aggressive when it comes to their efforts to bring back players like Jacobs, restructure contracts and give out extensions to create cap space and seek more immediate roster upgrades through free agency, trades and the draft.

It’s unclear whether Telesco agrees with Pierce. The GM’s actions going into free agency and the draft will reveal the answer.
 
A positive about the Chargers previous drafts under Telesco and Wooden? I usually know the names of all the guys they drafted, so there's that.
 
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