Raiders' McDaniels Talks NFL Draft Day One & Looks Ahead to Today
HENDERSON, Nev.--The Las Vegas Raiders didn't make a pick in the first round of the NFL Draft, but that didn't mean they had a bad night.
In fact, the Raiders didn't have a pick because they shipped it (along with their second round pick) to Green Bay for the best WR in the NFL in Davante Adams.
At the conclusion of the first round. Josh McDaniels the Raiders head coach spoke to select media about the evening, and looked ahead to today. You can watch his entire press conference below, or read the transcript.
Day One Press Conference with Head Coach Josh McDaniels
Opening Statement: “Well, that was a about what we expected. Dave (Ziegler) and his crew had done a great job of setting up the board and putting the proper grades on the players. And I think, honestly, the guys that we thought that would get selected were selected, for the most part. We figured there would be a run on receivers, and there was. We thought that the tackles would have a good chance to be gone by the end of the day, and they are in terms of the guys that were really highly rated. Georgia is pretty good on defense, that was pretty obvious in terms of how the board kind of fell and what the league thought of those players on defense from Georgia until you saw some defensive lineman, corners, and a couple of safeties there at the end of the first round. So, it's about what we thought. Pretty quiet even for us. Just kind of grinding through it and paying attention to how it was going. But tomorrow will be a little bit more exciting and obviously Saturday.”
Q: What would you say the slew of trades that happened was indicative of?
Coach McDaniels: “I don't know. I mean each team has its own idea of how they want to move forward and build their team and it seems that that's become a little bit more commonplace now. Just people more willing to move players, people more willing to pay what the cost is. And if you feel good enough about those kinds of players that they can help you win and win quickly, people seem to be open to doing it. So, not surprising. I think it started really to trend a few years ago and it's kind of continued to be that way here as we head into 2022.”
Q: Was there any trade discussion that maybe you guys were involved in?
Coach McDaniels: “No, other than them checking and making sure this was the Raiders line. We didn't have a whole lot of action tonight. Yeah. So, no, there was really very little going on for us. Honestly, we were just watching, like going back through some of the things that we had already kind of rubberstamped and just making sure, crossing T's and dotting I's tonight. Dave and I were watching a lot of tape together. So, nothing much going on.”
Q: Can you talk about how valuable the wide receivers have become? And it doesn’t seem like you’re surprised the run came on wide receivers being selected in the first round?
Coach McDaniels: “No. There were some talented players this year at that position. There's a few more that are pretty good too. If you can score touchdowns, if you can protect the quarterback, if you can disrupt the quarterback on defense as a rusher, or you can cover these guys that score all the touchdowns, it seems like that's what everybody's looking for in the first round. And the guys that went at that position tonight, most of them are really pretty fast, get behind the defense, create a lot of big plays, had really productive college seasons or careers, or have really good size. And it's kind of becoming a little bit in vogue where you put those big players on the perimeter, and it forces the defense to have to play with bigger corners or try to double team them or roll to them or what have you. So, not shocking that that happened. This crew that went tonight is pretty talented.”
Q: With all the receivers going so high in the first round and then a couple of the trades with big time wide receivers; how glad are you that you already made the trade to get your wide receiver a month ago?
Coach McDaniels: “Yeah, we talked about that at pick 22 and there's all those things that you can kind of look back on and so forth. But we made that decision a while ago and are very happy with what we received in that transaction, and I'm sure Green Bay is happy with who they picked tonight. Davante [Adams] is a pleasure to be around and having the ability to work with them just a little bit this week at the minicamp was fun for everybody and just to start that process together. So, looking forward to more of that as we go through the spring.”
Q: There was a story with Darren Waller that there might be some interest in teams trading for him. He said that you guys have talked and that he was pretty much assured that wasn’t going to happen. Did you feel it was important to talk to him about that? Or did it just kind of evolve organically?
Coach McDaniels: “Just organically. I mean if we had to address everything that possibly comes up, it would be hard to do that quite honestly. Darren's a really important part of our team. I've loved my time being around him. He's a Raider. He's going to be a Raider. And we're looking forward to what we're going to do together. You never know where they all come from, but I think at times there's situations where you just want to kind of put it to rest. But honest to God, there's a lot of times during the year where if you were just chasing those things, you'd never get any work done. So, I think everybody feels good about where that situation is.”
Q: As trades happen in the draft, where it gets shaken up in front of you, do you sort of monitor that if maybe a team that had a similar need as yours that wasn’t there and is now all of a sudden in front of you?
Coach McDaniels: “Yeah. Dwayne (Joseph) and Champ (Kelly) and Dave have done a great job of kind of preparing that ahead of time. When things shift like that, immediately they shift the board and then there's things on the board that would try to give us a little bit of a clue what somebody may be kind of searching for if they're drafting for need. And sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't. There's a lot of teams that will just try to take the best player that they can take, regardless of the position. And other times you can kind of hit it on the head. So, we'll be very aware of how it's kind of fallen tomorrow by the time we get to pick in the third round, if that's when we pick. And so, what's happening in the second round as we head into the third round, who may have changed spots, what they may need in front of us. And then what's really the most important thing is what's left on our board that we really are interested in. And so, if there's two of a certain player at a certain position that you're interested in and you see five teams ahead of you and there's two or three of them that might have that same need, then that's where you start to kind of put two and two together and try to get four. But sometimes you're right, sometimes you're wrong, sometimes staying put is really the right thing to do. But I think there's enough guys up there that we're going to have interest in that however it falls, we'll be comfortable getting a quality football player.”
Q: Were you surprised that a few guys that may have dropped out of first round that you thought might have gone early?
Coach McDaniels: “There are always guys that are very talented that for whatever the reason, maybe it's need, maybe it's something with the medical situation, or what have you, concerns of some sort. And sometimes it's just how the board fell, and what the teams needed, and somebody may have pick something that they really needed maybe a little bit more than somebody else. Some teams do that, and it always pushes players to the next day. If you pick early in the second round, you almost kind of feel like it's a do over of the first round, where you have all day and all night tonight to kind of think about what's there, how you're looking at it, what's going to fall to you. And then a little bit like that in the fourth round because you have that time after the third round is done and then the morning before the fourth round begins to really evaluate it and kind of start putting some pieces together. But there’s some really good football players that are going to go tomorrow and that are going to go Saturday. So, there's plenty left on the board, that's for sure.”
Q: Do you get to go home and rest, or is there a lot of adjustments and redo after the first day?
Coach McDaniels: “There's very little to adjust. We graded the players and I think there's a time where you say, ‘Okay, all right, it’s done.’ You know what I mean? And the grade itself is placed on the player and you grade him based on how you feel he fits for your football team. And really one day's worth of draft picks isn't going to change months of work that we've put in terms of evaluating each player. So, there's still some things we're going to sort through tonight just because we're doing a little bit more crossing the T's and dotting the I's on some players that may be a little clustered together, are stacked on top of one another. But you could probably do that almost infinitely because you never know how it falls. Okay, we have an offensive guard, a running back, a receiver, a corner, a safety and a defensive tackle, and they all have the same grade. And you never know how many of those guys are going to be there when you pick it. If they're all there, what's the order you're going to go in. And if there's two of them there, would you pick him over him? And some of those conversations are going to be had. But I don't think we'll stop the process totally until we're done on Saturday night.”
Q: Since you mentioned the mini-camp, what’s the biggest thing you tried to instill in the new players?
Coach McDaniels: “You know, it's a new process for everybody. We're all coming from a little bit of a different situation, you know, and getting to know each other and really just learning our language. How do we communicate with one another, our process on the field, how we work, the tempo that we want to work at, the fundamentals and the techniques that we're really emphasizing over the course of these three days are going to try to carry us through the whole year as we practice them more and more. So, really just emphasizing those kinds of things. We're really not in a competition mode yet. That won't come until we until we get into OTAs a little bit and then it'll obviously pick up in training camp. But, really just focusing on our process. Getting to know how we do things, how we want things done, learning our language so that we can speak the same terms to each other.
One word tells a lot of people a lot of things and you just have to know what those things are. People are giving calls and getting calls on every play or every rep. So, that was a big focus for us. I'm pleased with the turnout and the tremendous effort and attitude by the guys that are here. Really, really happy with that.”
Q: Josh, obviously, no picks tonight and you won’t go until later tomorrow night, but there's some decisions that have to be made by Monday on your three first rounders from 2019. What’s your process when it comes to Cle (Ferrell), Josh (Jacobs) and Johnathan (Abram)?
Coach McDaniels: “Yeah, we know where we're at on that and there's some tough decisions. There always are when you have those things come up. We’re working through that whole process now. I think it'll show itself in the next few days as we kind of finalize those things. But we'll see how the draft goes too. I think that's all part of the process. But those guys have been great. All of them here, all of them doing all the right things. We're really enjoying that process of getting to know them and really, I'm looking forward to just building the relationships with them because regardless of what happens, you pick up it, you don’t, that that doesn't mean that the relationship’s going to change. We’re really just pouring into them hoping that they get to know us. They're doing the same thing. Couldn't ask anything more from all three of those guys. We’ll cross that bridge here in the next few days.”
Q: Guys on both side of the ball have talked about you and Patrick (Graham) are teaching the ‘why.’ Teaching the ‘why’ we do things. That's kind of changed here. Does that come from your dad? Is it something from you? Bill? Where did that come from in that coaching stuff because it's not traditional?
Coach McDaniels: “It's interesting you ask because I haven't been around many that haven't done it that way because I've only been really around my father and Nick (Saban) and Bill (Belichick) most of the time. That's kind of how I was raised. And then I was raised in coaching that way in New England where the players always, I think, feel better about accepting direction when they understand the purpose. And so, we're just trying to be really diligent about communicating when we ask you to do this this there’s a reason why. There's a good reason why. It's just not because it says coach on my shirt. So, I just think that's a good way to really work together. That's what we're doing. This isn't a dictatorship. We're trying to go out there and work together, try to get better. And if we have a coaching point or something that we're trying to impress upon them, I think it just better to tell them why we're doing it then just force them to do it and they're always kind of wondering, ‘I don't know why we do this, but, you know, he keeps making me do these drills.’ So, I think that's always an important part of teaching. And I think Patrick does a great job. I think we have a lot of guys that do a great job of that. And there was a lot of that going on here the last three days for sure.”
Q: What have been your overall impression of the NFL Draft being here in Las Vegas. How the city translates into being a football town?
Coach McDaniels: “I think it's been great. Obviously, I haven't been down there the last couple of days. But just the excitement that this has generated here, I'd say for me coming here, and this is my first year in this city, in this state…just the way that we've been embraced and how, they've kind of drug us into the culture. Everywhere you go, you just kind of feel welcomed and excited to be a part of this. And I think all of us would say the same thing. We're blessed to be here. We're blessed to work in this organization. And I think this city itself has shown itself. I mean, it's a pretty interesting city and can host some marquee events, with the draft and the Pro Bowl this past year and the Super Bowl coming up in another year here. It's that kind of town. It's that kind of state. It's really those of us that are here working in it now understand it a little bit better than we did three months ago. It's an exciting opportunity for us moving forward to play in front of these fans. To be the home team here in this state and to get into that stadium and try to do really cool things there.”
Q: If you had to pick at 22, who would you have picked?
Coach McDaniels: “Davante Adams.”
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