Telesco's Past Could Give Clue of Raiders' Draft Plans

The Las Vegas Raiders have hired Tom Telesco as their general manager and his past drafts could give an idea of what to expect from the Silver and Black in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis searched adequately for a new general manager and head coach. 

After officially naming Antonio Pierce as the team's permanent head coach, Davis settled on former Los Angeles Chargers General Manager Tom Telesco as his general manager.

While he was recently hired, according to Pierce, Telesco had a plan for the Raiders roster that impressed both Davis and Pierce. Even better for both is that Telesco comes to Las Vegas after years of competing against the Raiders. 

Telesco is more familiar with the Raiders' roster than nearly anyone the Raiders could have hired as their general manager, except Champ Kelly.

The advantage Telesco had over Kelly was many NFL years of experience in the role and the ability to see the team from a different point of view than what had already been in the Raiders' front office.

A new general manager and head coach leaves room for many questions regarding the future moves of an organization. 

Telesco's hiring does that for the Raiders, but his previous decisions with the Chargers, specifically on draft day, could give an idea of what Las Vegas will decide to do in this year's NFL Draft.

As the Chargers' general manager for more than over a decade made multiple quality selections during that time, especially in the draft's first round. 

One of Telesco's noticeable tendencies during  that time is that he almost always took the best player available. without unnecessarily reaching for a particular player.

Overall, Telesco's draft history shows that he values the best player available over drafting for positional needs, unless a positional need greatly outweighs that method. Such was the case with drafting quarterback Justin Herbert after Philip Rivers' final season with the Chargers.

Telesco rarely traded up in the first round. He only did so once, and it was to move up two spots to draft fo4 a position of need.

However, Telesco seems to believe in building up the offensive and defensive lines, and his team's linebacker unit. Over Telesco's last 10 first-round draft picks with the Chargers, nearly half of them were linemen. Between 2013 and 2020, Telesco spent nine of his 16 first and second-round draft picks on linebackers or linemen.

With the Raiders selecting 13th overall and possibly not wanting to mortgage their future to trade up for a top quarterback this season, Telesco and the Raiders could stay where they are in the draft and take a top linebacker or lineman. 

From February 27 to March 4, 2024, the NFL Scouting Combine will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.

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

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