Raiders GM Dave Ziegler's Entire NFL Combine Presser

The Las Vegas Raiders General Manager Dave Ziegler discussed the state of the Las Vegas Raiders from the 2023 NFL Combine.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.--The Las Vegas Raiders are without a starting quarterback and are in a place of flux and transition, and General Manager Dave Ziegler spoke about it.

We are here on the scene and have the entire press conference for you below, as well as the transcript:

General Manager Dave Ziegler

Q: Do you feel pretty comfortable that the quarterback of the future could be here in Indianapolis for the Raiders?

Ziegler: "I think it's a possibility. There's a lot more work to be done, to be honest with you, to really say: 'Yeah, I'm confident.' Where we're now in the process is we've watched a lot of film on the players. And that's important to get an idea of what the value of the player is. It's a really important part of the process. That position in particular, there's such an emphasis that we put on the neck up and what that is, what that looks like, what it means and how it translates, and you can't get that part off the film. You can get an idea a little bit, you can see decision making and processing, and there's an element of it. It's not like zero, but until you get in the room with a guy, get him on the board, eventually I would say like, work through installs and see how they can retain information. I mean, this is like the first step of that puzzle to do that. Whether then there's the Pro Day, then there are 30 visits, and you can do private visits and things of that nature. And so, I think there's some really talented young players here and I think there's some years where there's maybe one or two. I think it looks like there's a handful of guys who have shown on film to be talented, to be diverse in their skill set, and so that's exciting. And then we've got to go through the next part of the process to really I'd say determine that."

Q: How does what they're doing in college football challenge the NFL in terms of evaluation, especially with what they're doing offensively compared to what you guys are doing?

Ziegler: "There's definitely a challenge there. We've seen a lot of people overcome it at this point, so I'd say there's maybe less reservations. But there's the element from the basic taking a snap under center and there's a difference when you're taking the snap under center and you're backpedaling, if you will, and processing and making a decision versus simply standing there in the shotgun and seeing the ball. There's a difference there. But we've seen a lot of people overcome that, and we've also seen offenses that have adapted to that, too. You don't get a lot of guys under center in certain situations who aren't comfortable with it. The defenses are different. There's definitely more complex, I'd say, defensive schematic game at the NFL level. And so, again, that goes just into someone's ability to learn, someone's work ethic, and did they have the tools both from a personal and a mental skill set to put the work in to learn it. I think what we've seen now is a guy like Lamar Jackson – super talented, he was a Heisman Trophy winner, obviously – he's coming into the league and can play quarterback in the league, and there are plenty of other guys along those lines. And so, it's difficult because you have to put the work in to determine all that…but like a lot of guys have shown they can overcome that now."

Q: Specifically with the first round, what sort of goes into the process when you're determining moving up, do we stay here, do we trade back up? I know it's fluid depending on what happens, but what's sort of the general thought process when it comes to that approach?

Ziegler: "Well, in both approaches, on a very basic level – to trade up specifically, you have to have obviously someone that you want to go do that for. And then you have to weigh the cost of doing business to do that. And so, I think what you really have to weigh in those situations is how you value the player, and the cost that it's going to take to get that player. Because once you move up, typically you're subtracting other draft picks, which are other players. And so that's the thing that you have to weigh between those two things. In terms of moving back – we moved back a couple times, I believe, last year. We moved up a couple times also. But in terms of moving back, usually when you're in a draft spot, you can be anywhere from maybe two to four players who you feel really comfortable taking at that spot.

And so I think the moving back portion is you get to that point, someone's calling up, and you're looking like: 'Hey, we're going to get one of these four players or one of these three players if we move back three slots, per se.' Do you know what I mean? And so there, you're kind of just evaluating the risk/reward and the gamble of those players being there if you move back. There's a lot of I'd say intelligence that goes into trying to answer those questions based on what you feel the needs of other teams are, things that you've learned about maybe what the direction other teams are going to go. And so, you try to have some insight beyond just your gut in those situations. But I think that's kind of the dichotomy there of those two decisions that you have to weigh."

Q: How do you balance the patience and diligence needed to find the future quarterback with the desire to win now?

Ziegler: "I think when you're looking at the desire to win now in a future quarterback, it's interesting because we've seen it go both ways in terms of you draft a young guy and they sit, right? Like, [Patrick] Mahomes sat for a year. And you can go back to when it was probably a little bit more prevalent. I think that even Carson Palmer might have sat for two years. And so there's a history there of doing that and players having success, and then there's also the history of guys getting thrown in the fire right away and it not working out so well. Now, there's some guys who have gotten thrown in the fire and taken their lumps and grown – Andrew Luck, I think he led the league in interceptions his rookie year. And so, in terms of your question, balancing that decision of winning now, I think it's just a philosophical thing that you have to make a decision on. And you have to be aligned from the top of the organization down if you draft a young guy and you're going to commit to that person sitting all year and learning. I think you just have to have that communication on the front end because there might be some things to stomach. Or, again, that pressure to get that guy out there and throw him in the fire. So, it does take, I would say, a unique amount of discipline to do that. But I think more importantly, it has to be alignment from the get-go on a situation like that."

Q: Do you guys have that already? Have you guys discussed that possibility or no not yet?

Ziegler: "Josh [McDaniels] and I have discussed philosophically what we would like our approach to be on that. There's still more work to be done. For me to say: ‘Yeah, this is what we're going to do 100 percent,' I'd say we're not there. Of course we've had those discussions. We've had those discussions over the years, but there is a moment in time here as we're approaching this next phase of the offseason where you have to just make the commitment to what you're going to do if you end up doing that."

Q: When you say you're not throwing somebody in the fire, sometimes when you get a high draft pick at quarterback, because the team was bad that's why they're drafting so high and maybe the offensive support is not going to be there. But in your case, when you look at if Josh Jacobs comes back, Darren Waller, Hunter Renfrow, Davante Adams, that's a pretty good setup for any quarterback. Do you feel like that's conducive to a young quarterback maybe stepping in and having some success as a result where you're not just throwing him into the fire, there's a lot of support there for him?

Ziegler: "Yeah, I would say if you were just looking at the support part of that, you would say: ‘Yeah, there's a lot of support there for someone to succeed.' I think it really ends up being an individual case by case thing, because it really depends on the person and what they're ready for. Because if they're not ready to take advantage of all those weapons because they're not ready for the responsibilities of being an NFL quarterback, then the weapons are null and void. So in theory, yes there are a lot of weapons there, but I think again it comes back to the individual and what they're ready for."

Q: Davante [Adams] has been very supportive of you and Josh [McDaniels], but said he wants to be kept in the loop, it's important to him. Obviously, you're not going to let them pick the next quarterback, but how much conversation do you have: 'Hey, this is a guy we believe in,' when that time comes? How much do you include him in it?

Ziegler: "Every relationship is kind of unique. I would say for myself -- I won't speak for Josh [McDaniels] -- but for myself, Davante [Adams], me and him probably have one of the closest relationships that I've had with a player as an active player that's still playing in the NFL. So, our communication is pretty fluid, whether it's on the quarterback, or whether, it's just in general conversation. Davante, we've talked about it before, he's earned the right to be kept in that loop. Josh and I feel that way, by what he's accomplished and who he is as a player and who he is as a leader on that team. So, he'll be involved in those conversations, like you said. And Davante knows he's not selecting who the quarterback is, but he'll be involved in the process, and we'll bounce some ideas off him. Ultimately, again it's going to be the decision that we're going to make, and he understands and respects that at the same time."

Q: You mentioned the price of doing business last year when you made the move for Davante [Adams]. You just gave a first and second last year and it was done. What's the philosophy going into thinking about draft picks that come from other years? If you have to include that in a move, is it worth the player or is it just player-to-player basis?

Ziegler: "Yeah, I mean, I think it's player-to-player basis. When you're working through the draft, I always find the future pick doesn't always seem sexy at the time until you get to the next year, and then you're glad that you have that future pick. That's the feeling often times that you go through when you're in that moment. I think at the end of the day, it is based on the player -- and again, it's what you determine the value of the player as. So, just like with the Davante [Adams] trade, we determined that the value we were OK with his value of being a first and second round pick. So, we made the decision and went with it, and we never looked back and we're happy with the decision that we made. I think that's what you have to evaluate. What's the value of that player to your organization? And then, how does that equate to the value of the picks? And I think you have to look at your individual situation, too in terms of where you're at as a team and what you're trying to build and the holes that you're trying to fill. But at the same time, if you feel like the value is there, you're going to do what you need to do to go get it."

Q: With free agency looming and so many teams needing a starting quarterback, the timeline for you guys to make the decision on the route that you're going to go to get your quarterback gets get sped up. Are you prepared evaluation-wise, that you'll have to make that determination here by mid-March?

Ziegler: "Yeah, from an evaluation standpoint, when you're talking specifically about pro free agency, yeah we are. Pro free agency is a little bit different than the draft. The draft, the player is there, you have the draft pick, you select them. You're not negotiating a contract or going through those mechanics to get a deal done. But from a straight evaluation standpoint, yeah we've put in a lot of work through that process. We've evaluated the quarterbacks who are in pro free agency. We understand what that market is. We have a hierarchy of what that looks like in our building, and we're prepared to execute that plan with the caveat being there's a contract element and a cost element involved in that. So, we don't know what those prices are. Do you know what I mean? You don't really know that until the free agency period begins. So, you have to have a level of fluidity to it, because you don't know necessarily what that price tag is going to be for an individual player or that player could sign with another team. And so, I'd say, if you go in there with just plan A, you could be scrambling if you don't have a multi-step plan in that situation."

Q: At the Senior Bowl you mentioned that you guys need to improve at all three levels of the defense, and because of your situation you guys don't really have all that many players under contract on defense, so it's almost a blank slate, not completely. Is your preference to build the traditional front to back in terms of prioritizing the defensive line first? Or are you more of a secondary, boost that up and build that?

Ziegler: "Yeah, that's a good question. I think I've always been in a belief, when you're talking about the defensive side of the football of, I'd say, building it inside out. I think having a strong defensive line sets the tone for the rest of the defense. Now, that doesn't mean -- you can find a good player, draft a good player. We've talked about drafting the best available players, but I think having a deep defensive line that can disrupt, that you can run in waves and things of that nature. We have a lot of work to do to get to that point, but if I was going to kind of lean one way, I would say that would be where I would start from a building standpoint."

Q: Andre James is currently under contract, but would you like to rework that deal in order for him to stay?

Ziegler: “Yeah, I think that with Andre in particular, we spent the last year with him and got to know him and got to see him play. There are a lot of good things about Andre as a person and as a leader that we really like, and I think he improved as a football player this year. I would say we're not to that point yet just with where we're at from a roster standpoint. We mentioned how many UFAs that we have this year, how many expiring contracts that we need to work on, and so I'm glad he's under contract. He can kind of take a breath because he's there, but we have just kind of a major order of business with this current group to handle before we kind of get to that step. But really excited about what he did this year at the same time.”

Q: Coach McDaniels mentioned that you and Josh Jacobs have been in dialogue. Any characterization on where that might be and any feeling it could get done before the deadline for the franchise tag?

Ziegler: “Yeah, I'd say still very fluid. You know, those conversations, we’ve had a few of them kind of getting everybody's ideas on the table. We'll continue to work through that process this week. You never know. I mean, I've been involved in deals that I thought were going to take two months and they got done in two days. And I've had the experience of doing deals that I thought they were going to get done quickly that don't. Obviously, there's a deadline coming up in terms of applying the tag, March 7, I believe is the date. And so, we understand what that deadline is, and we're going to continue to work that process this week. So, I can't put like a specific time on it, or I'd say like a gut feeling on what it's going to be or not going to be is just irresponsible. I’ve done this too many times now that would kind of paint yourself in a corner that way, but I'd say where the commonality is that we want Josh to be a Raider and that Josh wants to be a Raider, and so that's a really good place to start. Hopefully we'll work to get some common ground here sooner than later.”

Q: Is it a question of either applying the franchise tag or giving him a contract?

Ziegler: “Both things are on the table. Yeah, I don't think that we've made up our mind, on either way or on either side, and just said like: ‘Hey, if it's a tag then forget it.’ You know, what I mean? Or making the decision that we're not going to do the tag. I think that both of those opportunities are on the table. They should be on the table and, again, we'll see how it plays out. But I'd say it could go either way in terms of how it gets executed.”

Q: Because of the way most of your contracts are structured, next year's books are pretty clean. I think right now the estimate is like over $100 million. Was that something that was intentional to sort of keep open in terms of planning for future moves? Or did it just kind of happen that way?

Ziegler: “Well, some of that were the results of things that happened before we got here, so I’m not going to take full responsibility for that. But I would say that the intentionality is, and this isn't going to happen every time, not having a plethora of deals that end up putting you tight against the cap. Like having cap flexibility, having a healthy cap growth, or having a healthy cap situation, just I think we like the flexibility that that gives us. It's not always about resigning or signing a player that's out there but resigning your own players, which we've talked about wanting to really kind of grow that continuity within our organization. And so, I think philosophically, we would always like to kind of operate with some healthy cap and not kind of be tied against it. I've worked in those situations and that's hard because you end up making decisions on your roster sometimes during the season, week to week, that are predicated by the cap, even to the point of like: ‘Hey, we're not going to elevate this player this week because of the cap situation,’ or you're constantly restructuring guys during the year. So, there's a bit of I'd say, intentionality on our part, that we want to have that flexibility as we go through kind of each individual year.”

Q: Is it your intention to be aggressive in free agency? I mean, do you have a long list of guys you think you can add? Or is it still too early to make that decision?

Ziegler: “Well, I think that you can develop your philosophy before free agency starts. Now, sometimes that plan doesn't work out just based on how the market materializes and things of that nature. We're always going to have a group of players I would say in free agency that you just know based on what the market is and what conversations are, if you want to get that player, you're going to have to do that in the first couple of days of free agency. And then there's going to be another pool of players that you're going to make the decision on like this position group or this player, whatever it may be, we're going to wait. You know, we're going to sit and wait and see how the market materializes. And I think that is predicated on maybe the depth of that position and that may be predicated on what the surplus and demand in the draft at that certain position is. So, I think there's a few different variables that go into making that decision. But yeah, there's situations where there's probably, I think, unless you're planning on sitting free agency out and you just go in with that mindset, there's always going to be a player or two that you know that if you're going to do a deal, you're going to have to do that on the front side of free agency and there will be some players like that this year also.”

Q: Is bringing back Jarrett Stidham in the picture?

Ziegler: "It's in the picture. Like anything, those conversations are fluid and he's not under contract at this point. So, we're happy with what he did, and he's a player obviously that because of his experience in the system, there's value in that. So, we'll look at that market. There's a lot of players in that market this year that we've evaluated, that are going to get to be a part of that equation too. So, we'll see how it ends up working out, but ultimately we would like Jarrett [Stidham] to be a Raider going forward, just have to see how it fits together."

Q: The two games that Jarrett Stidham played, did that open up your eyes any or kind of validate what you felt he was capable of doing?

Ziegler: "We had never seen him play a live football game. So, any time you get to see someone when the bullets are really flying, playing against top-tier competition on the other side of the ball, there's value in seeing that. And so there was value in seeing that with Jarrett [Stidham]. We've always thought Jarrett was a good football player and that he had the potential to play well. Seeing it, yes it provides more validation. There's less question marks. Now, it's a two-game sample. We also were 0-2 in those two games. So. while yes, there's some validation to it, I'd still say there's still a lot of questions to answer on that position because the sample size was so small."

Q: Do you ever feel like there's pressure or maybe even an anxiousness to make sure that you're hitting the draft right, so you're not having to rely on free agency to try to build a team?

Ziegler: "Yeah, it's a healthy pressure, and it's a healthy kind of anxiousness. I mean, it's part of like the juice, like the fun of being in personnel. But to your specific question, yeah, we want to improve our homegrown talent. That's something that hasn't materialized here over the years. Again, it shows you it's a difficult process, there's no guarantees to it. But I think we feel like we have an opportunity this year with the amount of picks that we do have, with where we're picking, that we have an opportunity this year to build that core group of players. That doesn't always mean that you have 12 superstars and 12 starters. Some of those guys are working-class individuals that provide depth to your team too. But yes, there's a healthy excitement, a healthy anxiousness and anxiety to we have that opportunity in front of us and go capitalize on it."

Q: Do you feel like there are a number of starters that you need to pull out of the draft, or is it kind of fluid each year?

Ziegler: "I think it's fluid. I think it's fluid on where your team is, and I think it's hard to put that expectation on a player to say: 'Hey, we're drafting these guys and we need these four guys to start.' Do you want to hit starters in the draft? Yes. I don't really put -- I want them all to be starters, but I don't really go in there and put a specific number on it. We plan to come out of the draft with some guys that are starters for the Raiders for a long time, I would say that."

Q: Can you quantify where you are this year compared to last year being ahead of the game for the draft and for offseason?

Ziegler: "We're a lot farther along. That time, if you remember, I was on the job a little bit over a year. They had already done their free agency process. They had gone through and graded all the free agents. They had graded them on the scale that they were using, and they graded them in the system that they were scouting for. We are in the opposite end of that spectrum this year, so that provides a lot more clarity for us, a lot more clarity for the scouts as they went through the fall knowing what we were looking for. There was a lot less learning, even though still a lot of learning going on. The scouts last year were learning the grading scale and how to interpret it and they're trying to evaluate the player and they're trying to evaluate the player for this new system in a very condensed amount of time. So we're a lot farther along in those regards. And then the draft, I would say the same thing. It's the same dichotomy, they were evaluating a different skill for a different system. So, we're a lot farther along. Does that guarantee better results? You would hope it does, but it doesn't necessarily mean that that's the case. But we're confident that the continuity that we've had, the amount of learning that's taken place over the last year, the group of talented scouts that we have in the system, that it's going to pay a positive result for us."

Q: Prior to your arrival their drafting has been an epic failure, especially in the first round. As a GM how frustrating is that when you got a roster where there hasn't been guys that you had done the homegrown and you didn't have the depth? How hard was that to deal with?

Ziegler: "I think you know what the situation is. You evaluate the situation before you take one of these jobs, so you know kind of what the landscape is and what's missing and what needs to be built. And the reality is -- going back to the homegrown talent -- the situation is what it is, so now we have to figure out the solutions for it. And the solution is drafting well. So, I wouldn't say frustration or any of those types of things. Again, we knew what we were getting into, we knew what the task at hand was. And we've developed a plan to hopefully make decisions that are going to improve the homegrown talent and boost that young core players that we need, and that's what we're prepared to do."

Q: Is there a position that you think is really deep in this draft that you're looking forward to talking to some of these guys?

Ziegler: "Yeah, and I have some more digging to do. I would say just a couple of the positions on the surface that look like there's some depth to it on the defensive side of the ball, the cornerback position looks like there's some healthy depth there throughout the position. The tight end position is unique this year. I think this is probably one of the deeper tight end classes that I've seen maybe since I've been in the league, again on the surface. But there's quite a few players there. So, I'd say those are the two positions that on the surface looks like there's a good amount of depth at."

Q: Is there any scenario where, regardless of round, where you leave this draft without drafting a quarterback?

Ziegler: "I never like to talk in absolutes. Could that happen? Yes, it could happen. Do I see that happening? No, I don't see that happening. I think every year we've talked about it philosophically; I think Ron Wolf had a philosophy in Green Bay that almost every draft they wanted to come out in some form or fashion with a quarterback prospect. And I'm not going to tie myself to that, because again, you do an absolute and then that doesn't happen and then that doesn't work out well for you. But I would say some form or fashion we're always looking at the quarterbacks. We had Chase Garbers last year in college free agency after the draft. But I think we want to always continue to add to that position. I think you know this year will be no different."

The 2023 NFL Draft will go from April 27-29 and be held at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo. March 7, 2023, before 4 p.m. EST, is the club's deadline to designate Franchise or Transition Players.

March 13-15 is the free agent negotiation period. Starting at 12 p.m. EDT on March 13 and ending at 3:59:59 p.m. EDT on March 15, clubs are permitted to contact and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who will become Unrestricted Free Agents upon the expiration of their 2022 Player Contracts at 4 p.m. EDT on March 15.

The 2023 NFL Year and Free Agency period begins at 4 p.m. EDT on March 15. The Raiders are expected to be significant players in the free-agent market this season.

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