In 2020, the Raiders planned to make the playoffs. Instead, it was a season full of lessons.
This includes learning how to manage a franchise during a pandemic, as every NFL team has had to do – and still has to do – while COVID-19 continues to dissipate and vaccinations take over.
On Wednesday, Raiders general manager Mike Mayock expressed some regret about his philosophy project in 2020, when the pandemic began to dominate society. He mentioned to reporters the general frustration of last year and how he is better prepared this time.
Part of Mayock’s anguish revolved around Lynn Bowden Jr., one of his three choices for the third round of a year ago. The Raiders tried to convert the college quarterback and wide receiver into a running back, a bold prospect in any campaign and an idea condemned during a pandemic, as Mayock explains.
“If you look back and think, should you choose guys who might be a projection from one position to another?” Mayock said. “You know, we took the third round and ended up negotiating with him for Miami before the start of the seasons. He was a college slot receiver and quarterback and we tried to move him to running back in a pandemic year. And to be honest with you, I don’t think it was fair to the boy. We didn’t even see him face to face live until the training camp in July. “
The process was not fair for Bowden, and not very beneficial for the Raiders, as it turned out.
There were other possible problems around Bowden as well. Reports suggested that the Kentucky product was very fond of the Las Vegas lifestyle and was potentially a bad influence for WR Henry Ruggs III, the team’s first-round pick.
Mayock insisted that he switched Bowden for field reasons, however. He sent Bowden to the Dolphins along with a choice from the sixth round and received a choice from the fourth round in return.
So, what did Mayock learn? Well, a lot. He highlighted additional issues arising from the pandemic, such as this year’s medical assessments, which he says will be completed late and will not be as “finite” as he would like, and the lack of live personal conversations.
But his main point about the draft seems to be this: get what you can out of the process, instead of making it more complicated than it already is, especially during a pandemic.
“Basically, what I’m saying is that I think that in a COVID year, you have to be agile and you have to learn lessons,” said Mayock. “And you have to try to take advantage of the draft for everything you can.”
Mayock needs to infuse the squad with talent, especially in defense, in a hurry, and it won’t be easy, as he has less recruitment choices and less wage limit space to work with than before. In his third draft with Las Vegas, there is pressure, pandemic or not, to get his team into the playoffs in 2021, and any lesson learned should help.