Jon Gruden Gives Raiders GM Mike Mayock Draft Advice: 'Don't Mess It Up'
Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden had some simple advice for general manager Mike Mayock ahead of this year's NFL draft.
"Don't mess it up, dude," Gruden told Mayock, per ESPN. "I took a lot of of slings to get you three first-round picks."
Mayock is approaching his first draft as general manager since the Raiders hired him in December 2018 to replace Reggie McKenzie. Oakland has three first-round draft picks following trade deals that sent Khalil Mack to Chicago and Amari Cooper to Dallas.
In addition to their own pick at fourth-overall, the Raiders also own the No. 24 and No. 27 pick.
Mayock suggested that he might consider trading one of the top selections to earn more picks in the draft's second and third rounds.
"Between 24, 27 and 35 we have three awesome opportunities," Mayock said said. "I happen to like 20 through 60. Always have. I think there are a lot of guys that love the game and are safer picks, sometimes, than top-10 picks. I'd love to get a couple more picks in there. We've got a lot of holes that need to be filled and I think that's a really good place to go fishing."
The NFL draft will take place in Nashville from April 25-27.
