Las Vegas Raiders GM John Spytek has heard plenty of draft questions lately, but this one especially surprised him.
NFL executives always try to be ready for anything, especially at this time of year. Pre-draft work keeps them hopping, and part of that work means preparing for every possible media inquiry and having an evasive answer at the ready.
GM John Spytek of the Las Vegas Raiders certainly knows the drill, but occasionally every executive gets surprised. That definitely happened to Spytek during his latest round of pre-draft questions when he was asked about beating the bushes for players who could emerge as potential diamonds in the rough.
The question was about scouting secondary leagues, and Spytek had his initially answer at the ready.
“We watch football whenever it’s on. That’s one of the requirements of the job. We’ve got a great pro department,” Spytek said, according to a piece written by Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “Whether it’s UFL, CFL, IPP [International Player Pathway] program, if there’s football going on and there’s players we think can help us, we’re watching. And they do an awesome job with it.”
Part of this comes with having a 3-14 that needs a major roster rebuild. Spytek knows he’s under extra pressure to nail next Thursday’s draft, especially since his last one doesn’t look very good given the turmoil that came with the ill-fated Pete Carroll regime.
But Spytek also knows that scouting resources are both finite and limited, especially at this time of the year. Building out a draft board requires thoroughness, but sending multiple scouts to make recurring trips to some of these leagues can quickly turn into a waste of time.
He also ‘fessed up to being surprised by the specific question about this.
“You want to end on a UFL question?” Spytek said. “Didn’t have that on my bingo card.”
The question was also a relief, most likely. It can’t be easy to answer one question after another about defensive end Maxx Crosby, prospective quarterback Fernando Mendoza and newly-signed QB Kirk Cousins. There hasn’t been much focus on what the Raiders will do in the rest of the draft, but it’s an important issue.
Why? Because the Raiders depth chart is sketchy, to say the least. It’s full of players who probably don’t belong on an NFL roster, and it’s Spytek’s job to replace them with players who can step in and at least hold the fort when injuries occur and it’s “next man up” time.