Podcast: The John Spytek, Pete Carroll Draft Strategy

LAS VEGAS -- The 2025 NFL Draft is mere days away.

This episode of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast provides a stirring analysis on the draft strategy of general manager John Spytek and head coach Pete Carroll by our own Hondo Carpenter and special guest, attorney Jon Schopp.

You can watch the entire podcast below:

Geno Smith from his introductory press conference:

Geno Smith:

Q: Life can move pretty fast in the NFL, one day you're a Seattle Seahawk and the next thing you know, the Raiders are interested in trading for you. Pete Carroll being your former coach, how quickly did all the boxes get checked off for you?

Smith: " Yeah, initially when I thought this was a possibility, Coach [Pete] Carroll alone drew interest here. And getting to know all the inner workings, getting to meet John [Spytek], getting to talk to Tom Brady, and really just understand what this thing is about and the direction they're going. I saw myself aligning with that. And I think today is the start of that."

Q: You haven't played for Chip Kelly before, but he recruited you coming out of college, and he also coached your cousin last year. How well do you know his system? And what are your thoughts about his system?

Smith: "Yeah, I've known his system from afar. He recruited me in college when he was at Oregon, and I really gave it some thought. I thought about going there. I really liked Chip [Kelly] then, just kind of followed him throughout. I saw when he went to the Eagles, I actually had an interview with them when I was coming out for the draft, so I got to meet him again there. And then, yeah, last year he was coaching Jeremiah [Smith], so I just watched their team. I watched the way that he handled the injuries that they had."

"I watched the way that he managed having two really good running backs, and those guys equally had 1,000 yards. They had a bunch of really good receivers who they spread the ball out to. There's a lot of things to like about this system. Obviously, I've got to dive into it and really just learn the ins and outs of it and how he wants things to be run. But just watching it like a fan from afar, I was really impressed." Q: Based on how things ended in Seattle, how much of a desire was there to kind of continue this relationship? And do you believe that there was some unfinished business that you're really looking forward to continuing with Pete Carroll with this decision?"

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