The Black Hole: Go Inside the Raiders at the NFL Combine

After speaking with numerous NFL executives, here's what we're hearing on their opinion of the Las Vegas Raiders as they enter the NFL Combine.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.--People are hungry for information on their beloved Las Vegas Raiders, and I am here with a smorgasbord of food. Let's dig right into the latest on your beloved Silver and Black.

I am here at the NFL Combine and before things get crazy busy, I have been able to catch up with multiple NFL people to get their assessment of where the Raiders are.

The answers I received were both raw and informative, and I believe will give Raider Nation an opportunity to go behind the scenes of both the new regime and the past.

• In my discussions with executives around the NFL, I can tell you that one theme resonated with how quickly the Raiders have become a wild card.
• While eating a meal yesterday, one NFL executive told me: "You knew what Mike (Mayock) and Jon (Gruden) were thinking. They are good guys who people like. Josh (McDaniels) and Dave (Ziegler) are good guys, but you know they are Bill's (Belichick) guys. They hold their cards close to the chest."
• That helps the Raiders, in my opinion. Let me explain.
• Last year, I heard that the Raiders "Loved," Alex Leatherwood. On The Morning Tailgate, my radio show on Raider Nation Radio, we had Butch Jones from Alabama on a few weeks before the NFL Draft to discuss Leatherwood and we said on the air we had learned of the Raiders' interest in Leatherwood.

• Teams didn't feel the need to trade up to get around the Raiders.
• People knew who they wanted.
• The Raiders are a team that is close. The Raiders already are a 10-win team. The Raiders already are a five-seed in the AFC.
• As Mark Davis told me, "This is NOT a rebuild."

• Because of the Raiders being close, they could answer many questions in free agency.
• One NFL executive described it this way: "When you are close, you have to be so careful. It is my philosophy that in any NFL Draft, there are three to seven players that are immediate high-impact guys. Most of the time, three. If that is true, and my experience has proven it, that means everyone else has a curve."
• He added: "Close teams can't wait. The closer you are, you have to ask is he good enough to wait on, or do I get a veteran ready now and I know what I am going to get."
• He went on to add, "That is why the Raiders are in a driver's seat. The Raiders can go a lot of ways, and that makes them careful."
• Another NFL executive told me: "Everybody wants to get high picks. The best franchises consistently pick in the late 20s, or early 30s. Look at Bill (Belichick) and Mike (Tomlin). The New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers are always picking low because of their success, and every year nearly, you can pencil them into the NFL playoffs. Josh and Dave have that mentality."

• One executive made the point super clear. He said: "You are a Michigan guy and covered the Lions. Let's look at them. They go out in 2007 and get Calvin Johnson. The general thought that year was he was one of the three guys that were an immediate impact player. He noted Patrick Willis and Joe Thomas as the others. Then they take Matthew Stafford in like 2009 or 2010 (2009)."
• He continued: "Now I think he (Stafford) is a Hall of Fame guy as well. The following year they get Ndamukong Suh. Another guy who we thought was an immediate impact player. The Lions were never going to keep all three of those guys. So picking those guys early gave them a chance, but not for long-term viability."
• He went on to add: "Josh and Dave come from the Patriot system. They aren't used to picking those guys. They get the guys that develop and become something. If you are close like they are and you can get an immediate impact guy great, but that isn't how they sustain themselves. The Patriots would rather pay a journeyman who they know what they are going to get instead of a rookie that they are guessing on."

• An interesting note on Dave Ziegler: "I am not so sure that any front-office guys that the Patriots have lost hurt them until Dave. Bill liked him and respected him. I know Josh, I don't know Dave, and I think Josh is a great coach. From what I am hearing the loss of Josh hurt, but the loss of Dave was brutal. You should keep an eye on that guy." I will.
• I asked several people what they expected to see from the McDaniels and Ziegler regime. Their answers were telling and sincere.
• "I loved Mike and Jon, but holy Jesus Christ, if one of them fell in love with a guy you knew it. I expect the new team to keep their cards close, and to use picks as trade-bait or as long-term answers strategically."
• Another added: "This isn't really about Dave. But in Josh's case, I think he was humbled in Denver. Numerous people from Bill's tree think they are Bill and get monster egos. Bill has every right to be an egomaniac, and he isn't. If you email him, he is back within 24-hours. He isn't dumb, he knows how he has impacted the game, but he never thought he was more significant. Some of his guys think the game is easy because they have been with him. I got to see Josh really grow after Denver, and while I thought he would fail there, I am 100 percenr convinced he will succeed now.  I told you before we needed a guy and couldn't get a sniff from him. He's ready."
• Another added: "I don't think anyone can do GM and Coach successfully. Josh needed Dave. I have zero doubts they will do well."
• So while the mood amongst the NFL brain trust here in Indianapolis is that no one knows what the Raiders will do, there is no doubt that the Raiders have their opponents asking questions. In the past, they visited with their friends at the Raiders. Now they are trying to figure them out.
• Lastly, one executive made a point this morning at breakfast that I thought was fascinating.
• "Getting that extra exhibition game (Hall of Fame Game) was a real coup for Josh. You get an extra game, and you get extra practice time. That was priceless, don't underestimate how big that was for this team in 2022."

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