Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis is looking for a new general manager and head coach. Davis tapped former Los Angeles Chargers general manager Tom Telesco as his new general manager after officially naming Antonio Pierce the team’s permanent head coach.
Pearce said even though he was recently hired, Telesco had plans for the Raiders roster that surprised Davis and Pearce. What’s better for both men is that Telesco is coming to Las Vegas after years of struggling with the Raiders. He knows the Raiders roster better than anyone you could hire as a general manager except Champ Kelly. Telesco’s advantages over Kelly include his years of experience in the role and his ability to see the team from a different perspective than the Raiders front office.
The new general manager and head coach leaves many questions about the organization’s future moves. Telesco’s hiring will come down to the Raiders, but his past decisions with the Chargers, especially on draft day, could provide insight into what Las Vegas decides to do in this year’s NFL Draft. He was the general manager of the Chargers for over 10 years. He will have some good picks during this time, especially in the first round of the draft.
One of Telesco’s notable trends during this period was that he always brought in their best players rather than sticking with certain players unnecessarily. In general, Telesco’s draft history suggests he values the best player available for a positional need, unless the positional need trumps the method. The same was true for Philip Rivers when he drafted Justin Herbert after his final season with the Chargers.
Telesco made a rare bargain in the first round. He only did it once, and that was to go up two levels to get what he needed.But Telesco seems confident in the team’s offensive, defensive and linebacker configurations. During Telesco’s last 10 first-round picks with the Chargers, nearly half of them were linebackers. From 2013 to 2020, Telesco sent nine of his 16 picks in the first and second rounds to linebackers or linebackers.
With the Raiders picking 13th overall and not wanting to mortgage their future to trade their top quarterback this offseason, Telesco and the Raiders could stay in the draft and take their top linebacker or lineman.The NFL Scouting Combine will be held from February 27 to March 4, 2024 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The NFL Draft will be held April 25-27, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. The Las Vegas Raiders are currently 13th overall.
