Bill Polian, Tom Telesco Inherited Their Draft Strategy

Las Vegas Raiders general manager Tom Telesco has an important task ahead of him as he prepares for his first NFL Draft with the Raiders organization.

Las Vegas Raiders general manager Tom Telesco had a lot of success when it came to the NFL Draft during his years as general manager of the Los Angeles Chargers.

Raider Nation is hoping that track record carries over into this month's draft, as it will be one of the first significant stages in this new era of Raiders football.

While Telesco's mentor and Hall-of-Fame general manager Bill Polian was a big part of how he approaches the draft, the Raiders general manager has others to thank as well.

"He [Telesco] also learned it from Coach [Marv] Levy, who's all of our mentor," Polian said when he recently joined our Hondo S. Carpenter Sr. on the "Las Vegas Insider Podcast" to discuss Telesco. "He's the guy that created all of us, we're all products of Marv Levy. And Marv had 100 sayings, all of which I can recite, and I'm sure Tom can, too, from memory.

"But one of the best ones was: 'If you don't know, you know.' So, if you don't have a conviction on a player, if he doesn't fit the exact parameters that you need in the first round, don't take the risk, don't risk it. Coach [Tony] Dungy, later on, expanded -- again, Tom was around -- expanded on this -- Tony was a great influence on all of us -- when you're in the top 10, you should pick one of the following: a quarterback who can win.

"That means he's got everything going for him -- height, weight, speed, arm strength, processing, etc. Checks every box. And don't compromise, don't make excuses. Second: a guy that sacks the quarterback. Third: someone that scores touchdowns -- running backs, wide receivers. Fourth: someone who turns the ball over, either as a linebacker or, more importantly, in the secondary, with great ball skills. Finally, a left tackle. And you probably, in this day and age, can include right tackle; you just call it tackle because they are so hard to come by.

"If none of those are there, trade out. That's the Dungy dictum. And it matches exactly with Marv's point of view. Those are the kind of people we look for.

"Every player should have what Coach Levy called football temperament; others call character. He's got to have the right makeup -- everybody, top to bottom. But in terms of premier positions and, certainly, first-round draft picks, you are looking for a guy who checks every box, and if he doesn't, if you don't know, then you know."

You can watch Carpenter's full interview with Polian from the "Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast" here.

The NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Mich., on April 25-27, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders currently have the No. 13 overall pick.

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