Tag: Tom Telesco

Key things to know about Chargers’ Week 1 opponent: Raiders

Here are some important things to know about the Raiders ahead of the Week 1 matchup with the Chargers.

The Chargers will open up the 2024 regular season at SoFi Stadium against the Raiders on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 1:05 p.m. PT.

To get you prepped for the Week 1 bout, here are five key things to know about Los Angeles’ opponent ahead of the matchup.

Got the promotion

After the 2023 season, the Raiders removed the interim tag from Antonio Pierce’s title and promoted him to full-time head coach. Pierce served as Las Vegas’ linebackers coach before taking on the interim role after former head coach Josh McDaniels was fired. He led them to a 5-4 record.

The man under center

The Raiders had a quarterback battle during the summer between Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell, and Minshew prevailed. This offseason, Minshew signed a two-year, $25 million contract, marking the fourth team he’s played on. Over five seasons with the Jaguars, Eagles and Colts, Minshew has started 37 games, posting a 15-22 record. He has faced the Chargers twice in his career and is 0-2 against them.

Big fish landed

Former Chargers general manager and current Raiders GM Tom Telesco’s biggest offseason move was acquiring Christian Wilkins. Wilkins, the top defensive tackle on the market, signed to a four-year, $110 million contract. Wilkins is coming off a season in which he amassed career highs in sacks (nine), quarterback pressures (61), and quarterback hits (23). Along with being a prolific interior pass rusher, he’s just as impactful against the run.

Other offseason additions

Telesco’s other moves in the offseason came mainly on the offensive side of the ball, with running back Alexander Mattison, guard Cody Whitehair and rookie tight end Brock Bowers. Center Andre James re-signed to a two-year deal. They will all be key pieces for Luke Getsy, who will enter his first season as Raiders offensive coordinator. Getsy previously served in the same role for the Bears.

Look out for…

Edge rusher Maxx Crosby. Crosby has asserted himself as one of the top defensive players in the league. He finished last season with a career-high 14.5 sacks. Rookie offensive tackle Joe Alt should get a heavy dose of Crosby this game, so it will be interesting to see how he fares.

Las Vegas product Jonah Laulu was casualty of Colts DT depth, bonus draft pick for Raiders

Raiders wanted to draft Las Vegas product Jonah Laulu. And thanks to the Colts deep DT room, the Raiders got him anyway

To be honest, this is one of the few years I can recall there being less struggling with predicting who the Raiders might keep and who they might cut. That’s not to say my predictions were perfect — they were pretty close — that’s to say there weren’t a lot of guys getting pushed out due to a numbers issue. Which is to say just too much talent at that position.

There were several positions, however, where they had the opposite problem. The most glaring was probably defensive tackle.

Outside the top three of Christian Wilkins, John Jenkins, and Adam Butler, no one was stepping up to take the final couple spots on the depth chart.

So, when it came time for cuts, the Raiders were on the lookout for a player who was probably talented enough to make their roster, but still found themselves the odd man out on a more talented squad.

That was the case in Indianapolis. They had the good kind of problem where they are very deep at the position and so a tough cut had to happen. GM Chris Ballard had said it was the toughest position for him due to how deep it was.

The result was that both of the defensive tackles they waived were scooped up off the wire by other teams. Their 2022 fifth round pick Eric Johnson II was claimed by the Patriots and this year’s seventh rounder Jonah Laulu was claimed by the Raiders.

“I give Tom Telesco credit, now,” said Ballard of Raiders claiming Laulu. “Jonah, he’s probably not ready, but he will be one day. He’s going to be a good player.”

Telesco and Antonio Pierce were familiar with 6-5, 292-pouner because he is from Las Vegas and attended Centennial High School. And according to Pierce, the team was looking to draft him.

“Jonah was here at our local pro day, and I liked him,” said Pierce. “I was a little disappointed we didn’t get a chance to draft him, but you watch, you just look at your roster, you look at everybody else, you look at the waiver wire, and you make a decision. And we felt Jonah gives us some more depth and a little bit more juice in the D-line room.”

With Laulu available, the Raiders signed him and cut 2023 third round pick Byron Young who had a disappointing rookie season and didn’t appear to have improved any in this year’s camp and preseason.

Hard to say how much the Raiders were really looking to draft Laulu considering their last pick was at 229 where they selected CB MJ Devonshire and Laulu was picked at 234. Pierce and Telesco may have thought Laulu was draftable, but he just wasn’t at the top of their draft board when they picked. That’s how it happens sometimes.

Certainly with just 24 picks left in the draft, the Raiders were already working the phones and likely hoped they could land him as an undrafted free agent if nothing else. But the Colts made sure that didn’t happen.

No matter, in the end they got him anyway. And, for what it’s worth, they cut Devonshire as well and re-signed him to their practice squad.

Raiders Asst GM Champ Kelly: ‘I put my ego aside’ to work with new GM Tom Telesco

Champ Kelly ‘put (his) ego aside’ as interim GM when Raiders hired new GM Tom Telesco

Last season when the Raiders fired head coach Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler, it was Antonio Pierce and Champ Kelly who were given the titles of interim head coach and GM respectively.

Come the end of the season, Raiders fans were excited about the new energy coming from the team, prompting many to hope for the interim tag to be removed from both Pierce and Kelly to make their titles official.

Mark Davis had four choices. Either keep Pierce as head coach and bring in a new GM, keep Kelly as GM and bring in a new head coach, hire a new head coach and GM, or keep both Pierce and Kelly.

Davis liked both Kelly and Pierce, but keeping both in their new roles would mean the Raiders would have a rookie head coach and GM. Something that was a risky proposition. So, Davis went with the rookie head coach and brought in long time former Chargers GM Tom Telesco.

Hiring a new head coach would likely have meant Pierce would leave the staff. But hiring a new GM would mean Kelly stepped back into his previous role as Assistant GM. At least until he was hired away by another team.

That is, of course, if Kelly was amenable to it.

“I did not know Tom extremely well, said Kelly of Telesco.

“When we first got together, he laid out expectations for me and I was transparent with him about how I viewed the team and some of the needs and some of the [things] that we needed to do to make this team better. I was able to check my ego and put this team first.

“It’s not about me. It’s really about Raider Nation, the alumni, to try to put our best product forward so that we can win football games for this city and Raider Nation. Tom is easy to talk to and ultimately he wants what’s best for me and I want what’s best for him and this football team. And it’s my job to support him and all we do as we move forward. And hopefully we will continue to grow trust as we work together and win some football games together.”

That is a great attitude to have in an Assistant GM who, for a couple months, was entrusted with running the team. And Kelly likely knows that his name is out there in a positive way now, which means he is on the radar for GM jobs across the NFL as they open up.

Kelly has risen over the past 16 years in the NFL ranks from a college scout with the Broncos in 2007, to Director of Pro Personnel in Denver from 2010-14, to his current position which he now enters his third season with the Raiders.

Raiders sign former Chargers WR Jalen Guyton

Raiders sign former Chargers WR Jalen Guyton

Raiders GM Tom Telesco has brought a familiar face onboard in Las Vegas. Jalen Guyton, who played with the Chargers the past five seasons has been signed on in Las Vegas.

After not taking a wide receiver in last month’s draft, the Raiders have now signed two free agent wide receivers in the past week. Last Week they added former Cowboys WR Michael Gallup.

Adding some wide receiver help was crucial as they were woefully thin at the position. They had starters Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers along with second year man Tre Tucker and not a whole lot else. Giving both Guyton and Gallop a decent chance of cracking the roster.

Guyton’s best seasons came in 2020-21 when he put up a combined 59 catches for 959 yards and six touchdowns with 11 starts.

The last two seasons, however, he’s had just 12 combined catches for 153 yards and one touchdown. So, obviously, he will be hoping to revive his career with in Las Vegas.

5 takeaways from Raiders GM Tom Telesco’s pre-draft press conference

5 takeaways from Raiders GM Tom Telesco’s pre-draft press conference

With the draft days away, the Raiders made their GM Tom Telesco available to answer questions from the media. I compiled a few quotes from Telesco that stood out to me and discuss.

1. On if he’s been speaking with teams about trading the pick at 13:

“News flash GM says he’s open to trade up, moving back, picking at a spot. Everybody always says the same thing. We have a plan right now to go up if we have to and be aggressive with it, we got a plan to stick and pick obviously. And we got a plan to go back if it’s within in a certain range. It’s been normal this year just like other years. There’s been conversations with other team, but it’s probably more general than specific. Really wouldn’t get more specific until later in the process — Tuesday, Wednesday, even Thursday and sometimes when you’re on the clock. But it’s been the same amount of work that goes into that.”

My take: This is more for those who will try and make this quote a bigger deal than it is. Telesco almost rolls his eyes with his response because it’s one of those questions that is asked every year and he’s entering his 11th year doing this. They have a plan in place. They’d be derelict in their duties heading into this draft if they weren’t.

THAT BEING SAID: The name most discussed with regard to the Raiders is Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. Some think he is a reach at 13, while others have been talking about that the Raiders may have to trade up to get him. Technically both can be true because if there is a position to reach for it’s QB. And that goes for all teams with a need there, for which there are many.

2. His thoughts on more seasoned prospects in this draft — seniors and super seniors:

“I don’t have a problem with it. I think it’s good. The longer players stay in school, the better. They get farther with their education and hopefully finish and graduate and they get to keep working on their craft and become a better player. So, I think it’s good for everybody.”

My take: This is not the first time Telesco has commented on this. He was asked about it at the combine and had a similar answer.I think he’s genuine in that. Especially being in charge of a team that needs help right now to compete. The Raiders aren’t in the position to be taking players who aren’t NFL ready right now.

Who knows what will happen after their rookie deal is up. What he needs to think about is the talent level of the guys he’s getting right now, so some of these guys who are 4, 5, and 6 years removed from high school could be very valuable. Perhaps even more so than these raw supposed “high ceiling” guys.

3. On drafting for need or best player available:

“That’s the question every year. You try and balance it out, but the biggest thing is your needs change and they’re unpredictable. A need we may have today, may not be a need in August. We may have a player in the building right now who needs to develop and grow and fills that need. We may have a position group that feels really strong today and then we get to September or October and it’s not that strong.

“The story I’ve told here is, I guess it would be my first year with the Chargers. Our roster needed a lot of work, but I felt like our receiver group was the strongest group on the football team. So, we’re in the draft, we’re in the third round, and Keenan Allen’s card is just staring at us. Just begging us to take him. And so we decided ‘all right, we’ll take him, but more like probably redshirt him the first year, we don’t really have a spot for him, he may be inactive every week.’ And then we get into May OTA’s and one receiver gets hurt. We get into training camp and another receiver didn’t really perform the way he thought he would. And then in September another receiver got hurt, Keenan jumps in the game in September and he’s Rookie of the Year that year.

“So, like I said, your needs change quickly. Not predictably. So, it’s hard to go into a draft just thinking how we’re going to line up this opening day. We have to take a little bit more of a long range approach to it, four or five years down the road, rather than just how they fit today.”

My take: This is an argument mostly in favor of depth, which is one that gets overlooked a lot in draft analysis. It’s interesting that he uses wide receiver as his example here, because I think that’s the position that is getting overlooked as a need for the team right now.

They have Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers right now and they’re great. After that they have unproven Tre Tucker taking over in the slot and not much else. That means if anyone goes down, they are in trouble.

Not only that, Adams and Meyers’ contracts are structured in such a way that both will either leave or be in need of a restructure after this season. All this means receiver should not be ignored as a need on this team.

4. On qualities he looks for in prospects:

“It’s really the work ethic and preparation part of it. The league is so talented. Like with Joey [Bosa] I remember at the combine he was competing with those drills like it was a game day. He was just soaked in sweat. He was focused on every single drill he did. He’d go back to the bench and sit down, just kind of preparing for the next drill. That meant more than the actual times and how the drills looked, just watching how he works.

“Justin Herbert was similar. Where he just attacked everything like it was so important. And especially with the quarterback preparation is so big. In this league it’s got to be more than just talent, you got to have some other things to go alone with that because everybody is so good. And you’ve got to keep developing and proving over time. You can’t level out in this league or else someone passes you by.”

My take: He picked the right team for that. A group led by the ultimate work ethic player, Maxx Crosby, who brings along others as well to try and match his level. So, Telesco has all the proof he needs in his own building just what hard work and relentless dedication can create. Antonio Pierce has been here longer, so he may even value it more.

5. On carryover from last year:

“I’ve always said whatever happens in the last season, it really doesn’t carry over to the next year. Every year is new and different. But I will say the culture that was built late in the year last year, I’ve seen it in the offseason program. There are so many players here in January and February which is not really common where I’ve been in the past. I think that was built at the end of the year last year, so I do think that carries over. A lot of that has to do with our head coach as far as what he’s building around us and players that are here have built. I do think there’s some carryover there.”

My take: The harkens back to the previous quote about work ethic and preparation. These players are excited. Led by Crosby and guys like Robert Spillane and Jack Jones. Spillane recently said the defensive mindset is at an “all time high”. They are ready to pick up where they left off last season under Antonio Pierce.

Raiders release former first round OL DJ Fluker

New Raiders GM Tom Telesco has cut DJ Fluker who was his first ever draft pick as a GM

We’re still ten days yet before the Raiders re-convene for their first workouts of this offseason. That happens April 15. And yet today they cut ties with offensive lineman DJ Fluker.

Back in 2013, the former Alabama tackle was the 11th overall pick by the Chargers. In fact, he was Tom Telesco’s first top pick as GM of the Chargers. Now as Raiders GM, he’s cleaning out the closet.

Fluker is the second former Telesco first round pick to be released this offseason. Jerry Tillery was released last month.

Fluker was drafted as the answer at right tackle for the Chargers. That lasted two seasons before they moved him inside to guard, didn’t pick up his fifth-year option and let him walk after his rookie contract was up.

He has bounced around a lot since then. A season with the Giants, two in Seattle, and last appearing in an NFL game in 2020 for the Ravens. He was added to the Raiders practice squad late last season and now, without so much as an offseason workout, he’s out.

What positions each NFL GM drafted in top 100 picks since 2011

Where Bill Belichick, Les Snead, Tom Telesco and some of the NFL’s longest tenured GM’s used their draft capital since 2011.

Do tendencies tell us anything about what your NFL GM will do with their picks in the top three rounds? It might. At very least it could tell you what positions they value and don’t shy away from.

Former NFL analytics person Arjun Menon put together a spreadsheet of GM’s across the league to see where they spent most of their draft capital over the past 13 years. And it had some interesting results.

In terms of percentage, no team spent more draft picks on any single position than Ravens GM Eric DeCosta with 29.41% (5) of his picks in the top 100 on wide receivers.

If you’re looking at raw numbers, it was Rams GM Les Snead and his seven picks (20.50%) on wide receivers that leads the way.

Along with wide receiver, the positions that seem to be selected most with the top 100 picks are edge rusher and cornerback. Bill Belichick spent seven picks on each position which easily led any other position.

While the least picked position would be center, with many GM’s — including Belichick and Snead — having never selected one in the top 100.

The most drafted position for Raiders GM Tom Telesco in his ten years with the Chargers was linebacker which he selected 15.62% (5) of the time. Next up he had four pick each at wide receiver and guard (12.5%).

Overall, Telesco’s range of picks was spread out somewhat evenly. He used at least one pick at every position and had no positions even reach 16% of his picks.

Antonio Pierce calls GM Tom Telesco ‘magician’ in terms of drafting quarterback

Is Tom Telesco really the ‘magician’ in terms of drafting quarterback that Antonio Pierce thinks he is?

Regardless of how you feel about the hiring of Tom Telesco, for the Raiders, the former Chargers is seen as the right guy at the right time.

First and foremost, Mark Davis opted not to go with any first time GM’s because he had already decided to go with first time head coach Antonio Pierce. In this situation, Pierce was to be surrounded by experienced people to allow Pierce to focus on motivating his players.

But there’s also the issue with the Raiders heading into the draft with a need at QB for the first time in a decade. That’s an area where they like Telesco’s experience.

“I got Tom Telesco in there. Got the magician. Figure out what he’s got up his sleeve,” Pierce told NFL media’s Carol Smith. “He’s done it for a long time. I got a lot of trust in him. I think he’s seen it wherever he’s been. Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck, becomes a GM with the Chargers, Philip Rivers, Justin Herbert. So he knows something about quarterbacks. So I’m going to let him figure it out.”

Yes, Telesco has “seen” great quarterback play. Though he can’t really be credited much for it.

The Chargers landed franchise QB Justin Herbert with the sixth overall pick after Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa had been selected. Making for one of the more no-brainer picks in the draft as the Chargers were moving on from Philip Rivers and there was a significant dropoff at QB in the draft after that. They were taking whichever of the three QB’s were on the board.

Andrew Luck’s selection carried even less suspense. Telesco had just been promoted to VP of football ops from director of player personnel. The Colts had the number one overall pick and Luck was the obvious choice at first overall.

Peyton Manning was also a number one overall pick and he was selected the same year Telesco joined the team as an area scout. So, needless to say Telesco was not influencing anything with that pick. Philip Rivers was already a veteran on the Chargers when Telesco joined those team.

So, at best Telesco may be a good judge of the kind of intangibles great quarterbacks should possess because he shared a building with several in his career. He’s been lucky enough to have only experienced one full season without one of those four quarterbacks behind center. And that was the notorious “Suck for Luck” season.

Pierce and the Raiders are banking on Telesco’s up-close-and-personal experience with these QB’s translating to the Raiders finding their own answer at quarterback in this year’s draft.

The Raiders currently sit at 13 overall. Most expect the top four quarterbacks — Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, and JJ McCarthy — to be off the board by then, with a dropoff at the position after that.

Next up would be Michael Penix and Bo Nix, but both are considered late first round or early second round prospects.

This means for the first time in his front office career Telesco’s QB magic skills will be truly put to the test.

NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah: Raiders GM Tom Telesco knows exactly what a franchise QB looks like

NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah: Raiders GM Tom Telesco knows exactly what a franchise QB looks like

It’s no secret that quarterback is the most important position in the NFL. It’s also no revelation that Raiders general manager Tom Telesco will bring a new signal caller to Vegas, despite a solid performance from rookie QB Aidan O’Connell in 2023.

NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah told Amber Theoharis and Eric Allen of the Raiders Podcast Network that while Telesco didn’t draft many quarterbacks during his lengthy tenure as Chargers GM, every team he’s worked for was built from the QB down, so he knows exactly what a franchise QB looks like.

“First of all, he’s been able to identify the most important position, which is the quarterback position,” Jeremiah said. “When he got to the Chargers, Philip Rivers was in place. But then every year doing your homework on quarterbacks and trying to find that next guy; you look where the Raiders are positioned right now, Aidan O’Connell did some nice things last year. [Telesco’s] going to have to decide: is this where you want to move forward here or do you want to try to identify somebody potentially in the draft or free agency?”

Telesco eventually drafted Chargers QB Justin Herbert with the sixth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. That draft was flush with quarterbacks. Herbert was the third signal caller chosen, behind current NFL stars Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa.

Still, Jeremiah says that when you include Telesco’s tenure with the Colts and NFL legend Peyton Manning, Telesco knows exactly what to look for in a franchise QB.

“From his time around Peyton Manning with the Colts to his time around Philip Rivers and then Justin Herbert, he knows what it looks like to find that right quarterback. So that’s where it all starts with team building.”

Jeremiah, who also servs as Chargers color commentator, added that while every GM misses on some draft picks, Telesco has found impact players “at all different positions.” But Jeremiah believes Telesco will attempt to build the Raiders from the QB on down, just as his previous teams were built.

“I think he does have an idea of how to properly build a team. And the teams he’s been with have all been built through the quarterback. So I would think that’s going to be the first order of business,” Jeremiah concluded.

Finding a franchise quarterback won’t be as easy this time around for Telesco. The Raiders currently hold the No. 13 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. He’ll have to trade up to select a franchise QB such as No. 1 prospect Caleb Willimas of USC, Drake Maye of North Carolina, or Jayden Daniels of LSU.

Free agency or the trade market are other options for Telesco. In those scenarios, Teleso may bring in a stop-gap type player or competition for O’Connell.

Looking at Manning, Rivers, and Herbert, there is a touch of variety in their style of play. Manning and Rivers were classic pocket passers while Herbert has some mobility in his repertoire. That could open the door for a player such as Bears QB Justin Fields, should he become available. The Bears own the No. 1 pick in the draft and could select Fields’ replacement.

So while it’s no secret Telesco has to bring a new quarterback, or multiple new quarterbacks, to the Raiders, it’s anyone’s guess how he’ll get it done. His experience will help, but it’s unlikely he’ll find anyone the caliber of Manning, Rivers, or even Herbert. On the other hand, he just might. Raiders owner Mark Davis and Raiders fans will just have to wait and see if Telesco is the QB expert Jeremiah says he is.

Raiders hope to keep Champ Kelly as Assistant General Manager

Raiders hope to keep Champ Kelly as Assistant General Manager

Over the final ten weeks of last season the Raiders had a resurgence. Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler were out as head coach and General Manager respectively and Antonio Pierce and Champ Kelly took over those role on an interim basis.

Because of the good feeling in the building after an inspiring 5-4 finish, many were hoping Mark Davis would make the decision to keep both in those positions, taking off their interim tags.

One of those things happened.

It was Pierce who got the nod as the new full time head coach, while Kelly watched as longtime former Chargers GM Tom Telesco got the GM job. Davis opting for experience at the position so as not to have a first time head coach and GM at the same time.

This decision doesn’t have to mean Kelly is out of the picture altogether. He is still under contract with the Raiders as Assistant GM and as ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez tells it, Mark Davis is hoping Kelly will stick around in that job.

“In talking with Mark Davis, he told me Champ remains with the organization [and] he hopes he sticks with the organization,” Gutierrez said in an interview with the Raiders broadcast. “When the season ended, the interim tags left… he went back to being the Assistant GM. Which is what he maintains and stays today. He (Davis) said he respects him, he appreciates everything he did for him so hopes he sticks around in that role.”

Kelly has had an interview with the Panthers for their GM opening, but nothing came of it. It wouldn’t be unusual for Kelly to step back into the Assistant GM role and hope for his time to come in the future. And doing so could be a win-win for him and the Raiders organization.