Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast on Raiders offseason process, trading up or down, panic by a rival, and so much more
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00:00 Hi everybody, this is Hondo Carpenter with another edition of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider
00:07 Podcast.
00:08 It is so terrific to be with you today.
00:10 Happy Friday.
00:11 Now listen, we are just a couple days away, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, four days
00:15 away from being live in San Antonio with all of you.
00:20 Make sure that you go to Facebook, find the San Antonio chapter of the Black Hole.
00:27 Sign up or you can go to my social media.
00:28 I tweeted it out yesterday.
00:30 I Instagrammed it out.
00:31 I put it on our Facebook page, the Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast.
00:35 Las Vegas Raiders, um, let me give you the exact name of our Facebook page.
00:40 It's Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation Las Vegas Raiders Insider.
00:43 You can find it and, uh, but make sure you're checking it out.
00:47 Again, it is Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation Las Vegas Raiders Insider.
00:51 That's our Facebook page.
00:52 Go there, like the page.
00:54 We put all the information, zero cost to you, zero nada.
01:01 And uh, but go and it's going to be, it starts at six, it ends at seven 30.
01:06 It's an hour and a half of straight Raider talk.
01:09 I'm going to answer your questions about the team.
01:12 We're going to let you talk and ask things about maybe things that, um, I maybe wouldn't
01:16 write about, but maybe, or haven't written about it.
01:21 You have a question about, we're going to talk about that.
01:23 We're going to talk, I'm sure we're going to talk a lot of draft free agents, all kinds
01:26 of stuff.
01:27 Make sure you get there.
01:29 It's going to be a great time.
01:31 Go to the, it's a hundred percent free and you got to take care of your drinks or your
01:35 food or whatever you want, but, but make sure you're there.
01:38 It's going to be a great time.
01:40 The leader of the Black Hole Leadership Team there in San Antonio are just some top notch
01:46 human beings.
01:47 Just great people, super, super good people.
01:50 And I look forward to coming.
01:51 Now, several of you have asked me, would you come to our city to do a meetup?
01:58 We've had people from Australia.
02:00 We've had people from New Zealand, people from Argentina, people from England, almost
02:06 all of the 50 States.
02:08 We had some people from Virginia and Iowa.
02:10 I can't even remember.
02:11 Those are just recently, but from all over the country.
02:15 Yes, we will come and it's a hundred percent free to have me come to have a Raider meeting
02:20 or talk with you.
02:21 Got to have a certain amount of people committed to come.
02:24 Because if we're going to invest the money to come, there needs to be enough people there
02:29 to justify the expense, but we would love to come see you.
02:33 And it's just a night of Raider talk.
02:35 It's an hour and a half of Raider talk, and it's a lot of fun and appreciate all of you.
02:40 Look forward to it and it's going to be great.
02:42 Now, I also want to take a quick second before we get started and just let you know that
02:47 you people have a lot of really good options to be your Raiders beat writer.
02:54 You choose me, you don't have to.
02:56 And I just want to personally take a quick moment and let you guys know, we pray for
03:00 you every day.
03:01 We thank God for you every day.
03:03 We are growing exponentially.
03:07 I am well aware.
03:08 It's not because of me, it's because of you guys.
03:11 And I just want to take a time every week or so and just say thank you to let you know
03:17 that I appreciate you and you're subscribing and liking and sharing and commenting and
03:25 all of that is really super cool.
03:27 Even those of you that are haters, I love and appreciate y'all and pray for you and
03:31 pray that God's absolute best for your life.
03:34 So thank you for joining us.
03:36 We appreciate it.
03:37 We got a lot to cover today.
03:41 And by the way, we have some surprises coming.
03:43 I think you're going to really like as far as the podcast go.
03:46 We're going to have a guy on this podcast who is a very much a potential draft pick.
03:55 You may remember last year we had Kalei Jokansky on and I knew the Raiders really liked him
04:00 a lot.
04:02 This is a guy that's not a day one guy, but he's a guy that's flying under the radar of
04:08 a lot of fans, but he has the interest of multiple NFL teams, including the Raiders.
04:15 So we're going to be talking to him.
04:16 Really looking forward to talking to him.
04:18 Got another very special podcast coming.
04:22 Now I've promised you a deep dive article that's going to be three articles long.
04:28 I thought it was going to come the end of January, but we are trying to get the most
04:32 information that we can for you.
04:34 It's going to be a really positive one.
04:36 I think some of the last deep dives, I wouldn't have called them negative at all, but it took
04:42 you behind the scenes and maybe showed you some things that weren't necessarily always
04:50 positive.
04:51 I didn't think they were negative in the least, but some did.
04:52 I didn't.
04:54 These are going to be super positive.
04:56 These are the ones that I think you're going to thoroughly enjoy.
05:00 I think everybody connected in Raider Nation, including Mark Davis, is going to learn a
05:08 couple of things.
05:10 Good.
05:12 I cannot wait to share them with you.
05:14 So I'm going to give you the timelines.
05:15 I had a lot of people asking.
05:19 Because of my traveling for some of the meetups, I don't know that I'm going to be able to
05:24 finish them next week.
05:26 So what I can tell you is, let me grab my calendar right here.
05:29 What I can tell you is that I would expect them to start no later.
05:41 Well, let's just say this.
05:46 Then we go into the combine and all of our coverage is going to be combine related.
05:51 So I would anticipate probably right now, sometime after the combine, but you're going
05:56 to thoroughly enjoy them.
06:00 They're going to be, you can't miss, because you're going to learn a lot about your Raiders.
06:06 Both your Raiders today and in a little bit.
06:12 Just leave it there.
06:13 I don't want to say too much.
06:14 But just want you to know, I appreciate you asking.
06:16 I know that you all enjoy them and it's going to be good.
06:19 Now, I have another thing I want to start doing.
06:21 I'm not going to do it every day, but I'll probably do it three or four days.
06:26 At least that's my hope.
06:29 Now watch if I don't do it three or four one way.
06:32 I'm going to try.
06:34 But it's, I do a weekly question and answer article.
06:38 But I'm thinking about maybe just because I get so many every day.
06:41 One at once a day, just picking one email and reading it for you.
06:47 A question.
06:48 This comes in from one of our faithful listeners, Hodari.
06:52 And I don't know where Hodari is from.
06:55 If it's Hodari or Hodari, I don't mean that to be disrespectful.
07:00 So if I pronounce it wrong, forgive me.
07:02 But this guy's been a terrific listener for a long time.
07:05 Get a lot of really good quality emails from him.
07:08 He said, just listen to your latest episode regarding the drafts.
07:12 I believe this would have been yesterday's podcast.
07:15 And I have a couple of questions based on a word I hate the most, assumption.
07:21 Hodari, I know that I would like you, because I hate assumption too.
07:26 Because you know what happens when you assume you make an ass of you and me.
07:30 And I do it enough on my own.
07:31 I don't need your help, Hodari.
07:33 Here we go, buddy.
07:34 It says, let's say that the raters feel that Daniels is a generational QB.
07:41 And I agree that trading in number one is the only way to guarantee that they get him.
07:48 Is it out of the realm of possibility that the raters could then trade back to two to
07:54 recoup some draft capital?
07:57 Would the commanders ever have interest in participating in that?
08:03 I really have no clue how ruthless the draft is.
08:08 Okay.
08:09 No, they would not.
08:10 And let me explain why.
08:14 If I am the commanders and I'm sitting at two, and I believe the commanders would be
08:26 thrilled to get Caleb or Jaden.
08:30 I have reason to believe that.
08:31 So I'm just going to leave it there.
08:34 Why would they move if they would like either one?
08:41 Why would they give up draft capital?
08:43 Now if you don't understand Hodari's question, you didn't see yesterday's podcast.
08:48 I talked about if the raters only think one of the three quarterbacks.
08:52 Now let's say maybe they think there's four.
08:55 Let's say that the organization, let's use JJ McCarthy.
09:00 So let's say the organization says, "Hey, we like Drake.
09:05 We like Caleb.
09:06 We like Jaden and we like JJ."
09:09 Okay.
09:11 Or let's say they only like one.
09:13 Let's say that the raters only like Jaden Daniels.
09:15 And I'm speaking hypothetically again, but I believe based upon personal relationships
09:21 that AP has with Jaden, I think at this point, and I can tell you again, no decision has
09:27 been made yet.
09:29 I want to make sure that everybody hears that.
09:32 You're hearing a lot of speculation and that's fine.
09:35 There's nothing wrong with speculating and analyzing.
09:38 That's good journalism.
09:40 But I'm telling you the raters have yet to make a definitive decision on anybody.
09:47 I'm just going to put that out there.
09:49 I take that back.
09:50 I think there's some people they've made definitive decisions against negatively, but in referring
09:56 to those top quarterbacks, I don't believe any definitive decision has been made.
10:03 And I have reason to believe that.
10:04 So I talked about if you're the raters and let's say you only like one of the three.
10:10 Well, I don't believe Washington's going to move.
10:14 I think they're going to stay put at two.
10:17 I don't believe Chicago has, matter of fact, let me rephrase this.
10:21 I know Chicago has, as of this taping, not yet made a final decision.
10:29 I know from people who I know in the organization, I know some people in the organization who
10:38 have told me they want to stick with fields, trade down, pick up even more picks.
10:46 But the people who've told me that are not the final decision makers.
10:51 So what I've been told is no decision has been made as of yet.
10:55 So if they were to give up number one, somebody would have to weigh over pay.
11:00 So let's look at what a potential cost would be.
11:02 You may remember in 2021, the 49ers above the general manager level really wanted trade
11:12 lands.
11:14 I do not believe.
11:15 I reported it at the time and I'm going to say it now.
11:17 I don't believe that that was John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan's idea.
11:22 I have reason to believe that.
11:25 They really wanted trade lands.
11:27 So they moved from 12 to three and here's what they gave up.
11:34 They gave up.
11:37 Oh man, I lost it.
11:48 They gave up three number ones and a two.
11:52 Okay.
11:53 So here is my question to you.
11:58 So the Raiders would give up number 13, number one in 25, number one in 26 and a two this
12:05 year to move up to three.
12:10 Now I was told the price would be a little bit higher than that.
12:15 So that's, it would be a little bit higher than that.
12:22 So then you then have a decision to make.
12:26 What if you only like one guy?
12:28 Well then you can't move to three.
12:31 Now I believe Jaden Daniels is not going to get past number two.
12:36 And because remember you were hypothetically using him as for this example, I think hypothetically
12:41 based on some, some at least evidentiary critical thinking.
12:48 I mean, he was in the locker room for game 18 and you know, he's very close to Antonio.
12:54 So I'm using him hypothetically, but it is critical thinking.
13:00 If you've, if he's one, I don't think Jaden's going to get past two.
13:06 Based on what I'm hearing today, I don't think he gets past two.
13:10 So if you want Jaden, you got to go to one.
13:13 So the cost is even going to be higher.
13:16 It's going to probably be the three ones for sure.
13:22 And it could be as much as three ones and three twos.
13:30 If it was three ones and a two to go from 12 to 13, going from 13 to one, that is what
13:40 I was told this morning is that if somebody was guessing what the cost would be to move
13:46 up there now, three ones, three twos, if you're the Raiders.
13:50 Let's keep moving here for a minute.
13:54 If you're the Raiders, you either go to one or you don't make a move.
13:58 Because what happens if you get up to three and your guy's not there, you're screwed.
14:03 Now if you think three guys are generational, then you go to three because it's cheaper
14:08 and you sit there and make a salmon.
14:13 Just wait.
14:15 All right, whoever we get, we get.
14:19 If you think there's four, you go to four.
14:23 So what I would say to you is this.
14:28 You analyze what the cost would be and then decide is it worth going up.
14:35 So let's say you go up to one.
14:37 Well, if you're Washington, Hodari, and you like both, no, I'm not paying you.
14:44 You're the one that just overpaid.
14:47 This is why you hear me say you can't approach the draft in fear.
14:54 But you also can't approach the draft with bravado.
14:59 You got to know that your guy, because if you're wrong, if Tolesco and AP move up and
15:06 they're wrong, they're out.
15:11 They're not going to be here very long.
15:16 Now if Mark Davis said, this is the guy I want, go get him, then that buys them time.
15:23 But if they go to him and say, this is the guy we want, and they're wrong.
15:30 We know that Mark Davis has given them the green light to do whatever they got to do
15:34 to improve this team.
15:35 And I'm going to tell you as a Raider fan, you do not know how blessed you are.
15:38 There are a lot of owners.
15:41 No.
15:42 You're fortunate.
15:43 And I'm not kissing Mark's rear.
15:46 I've been critical of him when I think he deserves it.
15:48 I don't think he deserves it here at all.
15:53 But if Mark says, okay, whatever guys you think, go get them.
15:57 And you're wrong.
16:03 And somebody else in that top three pans out.
16:06 You out.
16:09 See ya.
16:11 You are the weakest link.
16:12 Goodbye.
16:13 You're going to be done.
16:15 So that's why you can't approach it with fear, but you can't approach it with bravado.
16:19 You got to know that you know, and if there is any uncertainty, you don't move.
16:23 If there is any uncertainty, you don't at all move.
16:28 Now in a minute, I'm going to talk about something else I learned yesterday, but I want to finish
16:31 this train of thought on quarterback.
16:35 So you got to know what you're doing and then make a decision.
16:38 So now the process is you don't move to one right now until you've made a decision on
16:42 the others.
16:44 But as the draft gets closer, the price of poker goes up.
16:48 I mentioned this in yesterday's podcast, the Raiders knew what the cost last year was to
16:53 move to one, two, and three.
16:57 And they could have moved.
17:00 I know that for a fact.
17:01 I was told that just, I was told that at the combine and right after the combine by people
17:09 within the Raider organization that they had called, they had known the cost and they thought
17:14 it was just way too steep to go to one or two.
17:18 So you can't make that decision because the more guys that you feel are there, or let's
17:26 say it's not even that, let's say that they just think there's another player that they
17:30 can't miss.
17:31 So they got four people.
17:32 They don't care.
17:33 As long as they get one of the four, they're happy.
17:35 Then you only have to go to four.
17:37 But the longer it takes to make that decision, the cost goes up.
17:45 Or maybe Chicago makes a decision.
17:48 Yeah, we're going with Caleb no matter what.
17:52 We're going to ship Justin off to Atlanta or somewhere else and no, we're not trading.
17:57 And then you have the commanders.
17:58 No, we're not trading.
17:59 Then you got the Patriots who are in a little bit of flux.
18:01 There's been such a vacuum of leadership that I'm told by people, I don't think anybody
18:06 there right now knows what they want to do.
18:08 So that's up in question.
18:11 So a lot going on there.
18:13 Hodari, I thought that was a great email.
18:15 Thank you for it.
18:16 Going to start doing that.
18:17 Remember, if you ever have a question for me, got to include your name.
18:21 Got to include your name, but you can email me spartan nation mail, mail@yahoo.com.
18:26 Thanks everybody.
18:27 Okay.
18:28 So now I want to get moving a little bit.
18:34 You may remember I told you that I a hundred percent supported the Raiders not taking Jalen
18:44 Carter and it was not that he wasn't talented.
18:48 In fact, I told you at the time, and I've told you numerous times later, multiple people
18:55 in the league told me they thought he was the most talented player in the draft.
19:02 Most physical God given talent.
19:05 But there were a lot of red flags with him.
19:08 Some people knew about, some people didn't know about, but a lot of red flags and a lot
19:12 of teams said, no, he isn't on our draft board.
19:15 Now you may remember he was dropping and his agent got on the phone.
19:22 There was reports of this and basically convinced the Eagles, you got to take him because they
19:32 knew if he got past the Eagles, he was going to exponentially drop.
19:39 And so he comes in and he starts to have a great year and he did.
19:45 People this was so stupid.
19:48 Relax.
19:49 Well, there's no, um, where I want to pick the right word.
20:03 We are in a society innocent until proven guilty.
20:06 Okay.
20:07 But now there's this report with Jalen Carter, alleged death threats with the 49ers, Feliciano.
20:19 And we know now that that's being investigated.
20:22 He could be a hundred percent in a hundred percent innocent.
20:28 And I'm not going to get into the report, but, um, certainly looks like there's something
20:34 substantive there, but there's nothing of which, um, guilt at all.
20:42 Just alleged.
20:44 But the point of the matter is, is it's just, this is just what you see with Jalen Carter.
20:50 And again, there were a lot of things that weren't public that red flags.
20:55 And I hope that this is not true.
20:59 The problem is, is when you look at a lot of red flags and then something like this
21:02 happens, it's just another reason to think maybe, maybe they made the right decision.
21:08 Again, I hope it's not true.
21:09 I'm not saying that it is just saying it's out there being reported that it's alleged
21:13 now.
21:14 And those are just some of those things that you want to keep in the back of your mind
21:18 of what goes into a decision process.
21:23 I I'll go back to CJ Stroud last year.
21:26 There was no character concerns with him at all.
21:30 None.
21:31 Anybody that, that, and that knew CJ Stroud, um, and I not friends with him at all, but
21:40 knew him from my previous, before I'd covered the Raiders covering college football, um,
21:46 knew him great kid.
21:49 And then some teams begin to knock him because of an alleged very low score on an aptitude
21:56 test, which is just stupid, stupid, just stupid.
22:05 Leave it there, but there was never a character issue with CJ.
22:10 Kid's got one of the highest characters.
22:12 It's come out in college football in decades.
22:15 It's a great kid, great kid.
22:19 And so when you are investing first round capital, it is so, so valuable.
22:32 I heard a, a general manager tell me one time that first and second round draft choices
22:39 are literally gold.
22:41 Well, he said, first round draft choices are gold layered in diamonds and second round
22:50 draft choices are gold.
22:53 You got to hit on those.
22:55 That's why I move into one.
22:56 If it's three ones and three twos, you, you will set your, listen, I've said this before
23:04 a franchise quarterback, a generational quarterback is worth their weight and goal.
23:13 You don't even think about them.
23:16 If you're sitting here today and you're Tom Telesco and Antonio Pearson, you say Jaden
23:20 Daniels is our next Ken Stabler.
23:23 He's our next Patrick Mahomes.
23:26 He's our next Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck.
23:30 Three ones, three twos, done.
23:34 You better be sure because you set your franchise back exponentially, exponentially.
23:46 You grip now 49ers got away with it because they stole Brock Purdy.
23:53 They stole Lynch and Shanahan being smarter than the people above them that want them
23:57 to pick Trey, Shanning Trey lands.
24:01 Now please hear what I'm saying.
24:05 If they go get somebody, but say they go get Caleb Williams and he's an utter failure and
24:10 y'all know, I've told you, I'm hearing from multiple NFL people who I trust as proven
24:17 quarterback drafters.
24:18 They're not believers in Caleb Williams at all.
24:21 There are a lot of teams that are, but the ones that I trust that are telling me, we
24:30 wouldn't pick him in that top two, two expensive, but let's say that you go get him and he fails
24:40 or Jaden Daniels or Drake May or JJ McCarthy, whomever, I'm not picking on Caleb.
24:45 When I watch them, the kid's talent jumps off the page for me, but my opinion doesn't
24:51 matter.
24:52 I'm listening to the people that I trust.
24:53 I think the kid's phenomenal when I watch his physical skills, but let's say they fail,
25:04 but Aiden Lucano keeps rising and he bails them out.
25:10 Well then you're okay with it, which is what happened with Brock Purdy.
25:15 That's why I'm saying though, what if they make the mistake and Aiden doesn't become
25:20 what a lot of people think Aiden might be, you're out.
25:24 So that's why it's super important and that's why in the draft process, it's not just physical
25:29 talent.
25:30 I mean, when you bring a guy to Vegas, now I'm going to say this because I think Vegas
25:35 gets a crappy reputation.
25:39 I love my city and yeah, I'm not from here, but you know what I mean?
25:44 I love it.
25:48 I've not got busted with hookers and blow.
25:53 I've not got a DUI.
25:56 You can come to this town and it is a great place to live.
25:59 It's a great place to raise a family.
26:02 Are there things here that can get people in trouble?
26:04 Sure.
26:05 But guess what?
26:06 There's things in every city that can get people in trouble.
26:10 So don't blame Vegas.
26:13 Oh no, blame Vegas?
26:17 This is a great city.
26:18 This is a wonderful place to live.
26:22 Yeah, but Hondo, there's illicit activity in Vegas.
26:28 There's illicit activity everywhere.
26:31 Karen, give me a break.
26:34 Give me a break.
26:36 You can find trouble anywhere.
26:40 It's a great city.
26:45 G-R-E-A-T, great city.
26:49 I would challenge some of you that are concerned that the only thing in Vegas is trouble to
26:54 come here and email me before you come and I'll give you a week's itinerary of awesome
27:01 stuff that you will love and have a great time.
27:05 It's great food.
27:06 It's great.
27:07 There's just so much great stuff to do here and living here, awesome.
27:15 So don't blame the city.
27:18 But you still want to know about people.
27:20 Is there a character issue?
27:26 You're going to want to do that whether you're in Green Bay, there's stuff you can do in
27:29 Green Bay and trouble or Vegas.
27:33 And that's why I brought up that thing about jail.
27:35 Again, it's a legend, but with all of the smoke and he didn't get through a rookie year
27:44 without that happening.
27:45 It just lends people and it just lends people to probably made a pretty good decision.
27:52 And I found out about that from an NFL guy who I talked about jailing last year with
27:57 and he just kind of dropped it to me.
27:58 He goes, "Hey, I don't know if you saw this."
28:00 So I wanted to bring it up to you.
28:03 I mentioned to you about, and this is all Raiders, but I need to address this because
28:09 I think it's super important and it is going to relate to the Raiders.
28:14 The 49ers, I said to you after the Super Bowl, I actually didn't say it on this podcast.
28:20 I said it on a national radio interview.
28:24 One of the most difficult things about winning is learning to win.
28:31 Tom Izzo, the Hall of Fame basketball coach at Michigan State, great friend of mine, love
28:36 Tom dearly.
28:37 He told me once the hardest part is you get a lot of kids that go to Michigan State that
28:42 are all Americans, but they have to learn how to win when they knew how to win in high
28:48 school, but it ain't high school.
28:50 You're in the big 10 every night.
28:52 You're banging and going at it.
28:57 And they got to learn how to win.
28:58 And he talked about that's one of the hardest things of building a champion is teaching
29:02 and them learning how to win.
29:04 Okay.
29:05 So San Francisco, I said this on the national show, but it's going to be Raider related.
29:09 So please stick with me.
29:10 I'm not taking a bunny trail here.
29:14 I said on a national show up to the Super Bowl, if the 49ers stick with Purdy, don't
29:19 panic.
29:20 I expect them to be back in the Super Bowl next year because they got up there.
29:27 Because remember I had watched the Pistons try to beat the Celtics and the Lakers.
29:31 And then I watched the bulls with Michael Jordan, try to break through with the Pistons.
29:36 There's a learning process.
29:38 Each time you lose though, you're learning what you need to do.
29:43 I said, but if they didn't panic, well, they panic yesterday.
29:46 Steve Wilkes, our defensive coordinator who did a great job, did a great job.
29:56 Are there some things in the Super Bowl you can look at?
29:58 Probably should have maybe done that a little bit different.
30:00 I don't know that you can say that definitively.
30:02 I think you could say, I mean, I think there was some turnovers by the offense that hurt
30:06 their defense and put them in a bad spot, but he did a great job with that defense.
30:10 That was a super good defense.
30:12 They fire him.
30:13 Shanahan ain't going to fire himself and he's got to have somebody to blame.
30:19 I think that, and now I'm hearing they may hire Brandon Staley to be their defensive
30:24 coordinator.
30:32 Sometimes covering the NFL, it's really hard to keep a straight face, but you do it anyway.
30:37 So here's where I'm going with this.
30:41 The Raiders are beginning a new regime with Antonio Pierce.
30:46 How many times this year did the Raiders lose?
30:48 And then someone said, well, it's over.
30:53 It's over.
30:55 AP sucks.
30:56 He's not getting a job.
30:57 Well, he did.
30:58 Why?
30:59 Because they played it through.
31:00 That's why you judge seasons at the end of the year and not in the middle of the year.
31:07 Don't do that.
31:10 The Raiders go and get shut out and you're like, wow, this was really, really bad.
31:14 Bam, next week, 60 plus points.
31:17 They ended up finishing five and four.
31:19 AP keeps the job.
31:22 And so you have to understand there's going to be a winning process with the Raiders.
31:28 There's all of the new staff.
31:30 There's going to be a winning process with the Raiders and you have to afford them that
31:36 opportunity for that growth.
31:39 You don't panic.
31:41 You let them learn how to win.
31:44 This franchise has not been a winner in 20 years and its motto is just win baby.
31:48 So they got to win that.
31:49 Okay.
31:50 The next step, get in the playoffs.
31:52 Next step, win a playoff game.
31:54 Next step, then begin to compete for an AFC championship and a chance to go to the Super
32:02 Bowl.
32:03 It's a winning process.
32:05 You don't want to be part of the panic.
32:08 Now, let's talk about the draft.
32:13 I got another email here.
32:15 Let me grab it.
32:19 From Curtis R. Curtis R says, "Hondo, I have a question for you.
32:24 I was recently listening to another report talking about, do you think Getzey drafts
32:35 the biggest position of need or does he take best player available?"
32:40 From Curtis.
32:42 Great email.
32:43 Thanks, Curtis.
32:44 Great question.
32:46 I'm going to go in a little bit different direction.
32:49 I had an NFL general manager talk to me about this once because I asked him, "Is your philosophy
32:55 best player available?
32:58 Do you go position of need?"
33:00 He said, "It's best position available.
33:05 I mean, best player available at a position of need."
33:09 I thought that was pretty telling.
33:12 So I mean, if you're the Raiders and we know that they've been looking at some defensive
33:20 ends, it doesn't mean, someone asked me, "Does that mean they've given up on Koontz?"
33:26 No.
33:27 But if you've got a guy that you think's a world-breaking DE, maybe you think you can
33:32 slide him inside.
33:36 But you got Malcolm playing great.
33:38 You got Max.
33:39 Some of it's just kicking the tires and making sure, "Okay, what if we can't trade and everybody
33:45 we want is gone and we love this guy?"
33:51 Do you reach and take a guy that you have much lower because it's a position of need
33:56 and you can't trade out?
33:57 Or do you say, "No, listen, we really need this position, but our next guy is way down
34:05 the board.
34:06 We think we can get him with our next pick, so we're going to take this guy."
34:13 Very fascinating how all that goes.
34:15 So I think you look for the best player available at a position of need.
34:19 Thanks for that email, Curtis.
34:21 Now I want to get into trading up or down.
34:29 This is a very vital part of what I wanted to get into with.
34:37 I have heard from four teams that I'm talking to that they think the Raiders have a sweet
34:45 spot in this draft.
34:48 There's going to be as many as four quarterbacks go at 13 or higher.
34:58 As of right now, February whatever today is, I think today's the 16th, I have no idea.
35:08 It's Friday.
35:15 As of today, the Raiders are in a spot where if four quarterbacks go before them, that
35:25 means there's nine players left.
35:31 There are a bunch of offensive linemen, there's a bunch of corners.
35:39 You got a lot more than nine players with a grade higher than 13.
35:48 Follow me.
35:51 So if you're the Raiders, and let's say there are two guys that you really, really like,
36:00 but you're not sure enough to trade to number one.
36:06 What about trade down to 22 or 24 or wherever?
36:12 I'm just making a number up.
36:16 Cumulate that pick and maybe a two and a three.
36:24 This is going to be an interesting draft.
36:31 Or do you stay at 13, where you know you're going to get a quality offensive lineman?
36:38 You don't know because we don't necessarily know how the draft pulls out.
36:41 But there are some really high quality offensive linemen in this draft.
36:46 Or a great corner.
36:49 Terry and Arnold, Kool-Aid, McKinstry, either one of those guys from Alabama would be great,
36:54 great gets.
36:55 There's just a lot of things.
36:59 So you have the thing, do we stay where we know?
37:02 If the Raiders stay at 13, they're going to get a quality player, very worthy of that
37:08 spot.
37:09 If they say the cost to move up is too high or we don't see a generational player or a
37:17 generational player we can get.
37:19 Or do they then trade back and say, let's get some even more picks, fill some more needs
37:26 and keep moving.
37:28 Now last thing I'll address is when you look at veteran players, okay, and you would say
37:38 it's a veteran player you really like.
37:42 Now remember I told you before, Hank Bulla, who was a great friend of mine, was the inventor
37:48 of the actual draft board.
37:52 He was a coach of the Buffalo Bills.
37:55 He invented it.
37:58 And most people are not aware that NFL teams not only have a college scouting department,
38:04 they have a pro personnel scouting department.
38:08 They're constantly scouting everyone's roster.
38:11 So when Tom Telesco walks in his office, he knows every guy of every NFL team and a grade
38:17 on them.
38:20 So he can go and say, listen, we've got a veteran player here that we really like, but
38:26 his grade is the same grade as this guy coming in in the draft.
38:32 And a draft player we're going to have on a four year deal, which is cheap.
38:38 And we got a chance to develop them and they're the same.
38:40 And he's cheaper than this veteran.
38:43 Let the veteran go.
38:44 Why do I say that?
38:46 So a lot of people believe the Raiders should have given Jermaine Illuminaur longer than
38:51 a one year deal last year.
38:54 Okay.
38:56 And but the Raiders thought, yeah, but Jermaine costs more than Thayer.
39:02 So let's hope Thayer can win the job.
39:06 And then if we only have Jermaine on a one year deal, we can let him go.
39:12 Okay.
39:13 Well, Thayer didn't win that job.
39:16 Played well, though.
39:17 Give that kid a lot of credit, but Thayer's on a cheap deal right now.
39:22 So if there's someone else that they can get in the job, then this is no slam on Jermaine,
39:27 who I think gets a rough deal from Raider fans.
39:33 Rough deal.
39:35 I've said it before.
39:36 I am stunned at times at the way Jermaine just gets blown up by Raider fans.
39:43 I think he played very well and Antonio Pierce loves Jermaine Illuminaur.
39:49 But if you've got a chance to let Jermaine go because of his cost and bring in another
39:56 guy that you think is equally good, but a lot cheaper and oh, by the way, he's on a
40:00 four year deal.
40:01 That's that's the NFL, baby.
40:04 That's the way it works.
40:07 That's the way it rolls.
40:09 That's the way it is.
40:12 And so you're constantly looking at who can I get in cheaper and on a already on a longer
40:17 term deal?
40:21 Or can I go trade?
40:24 Or can I go sign a free agent?
40:28 And that's all the process right now that goes into putting that roster together.
40:33 It's evaluating.
40:36 And Tom Telesco and his staff are and I'm going to tell you this, by the way, I keep
40:41 telling this, but it's pretty cool.
40:43 I've heard multiple people tell me.
40:46 That one thing that is really impressed Tom Telesco is he is dove into it and still finding
40:54 balance to be dead.
40:57 So I've heard not one ill word.
41:01 And I would I would I don't know that I would tell you, but I wouldn't tell you this.
41:06 If I had I not heard one ill word.
41:09 People have been very impressed.
41:10 He is thoroughly going through the race Raiders roster.
41:15 He is talking to coaches getting evaluations.
41:18 I had one person say the other day, it's the most they've ever seen a coach general manager
41:23 interact with each other in a long time.
41:25 And it's somebody that's been in the Raiders a while.
41:28 So I thought that was pretty impressive.
41:30 Now lastly, later today, now depending on when you listen to this, coming up at noon,
41:35 we're going to be talking to Luke Getzey, the new offensive coordinator on a zoom call.
41:40 And one of the things that I really want to talk to him about is I want to learn his philosophy.
41:49 I don't I I'm trying to how I want to word this.
41:59 I know in Chicago he was told what to do.
42:02 I want to learn what's your philosophy.
42:06 What do you see the Raider offense as looking at?
42:10 Do you like play action?
42:12 Is it a run base but where the run sets up the pass?
42:16 What's your philosophy of an offense?
42:19 I can't wait to disseminate that to you to talk to you about it's going to be fantastic.
42:24 So stick with us.
42:26 We got a lot of good stuff going on.
42:27 I hope I brought you some good information.
42:29 I answered a couple of emails today.
42:31 Again, have a great weekend.
42:35 Enjoy yourself first weekend without football.
42:37 So we're all going to go through withdrawal.
42:41 But I appreciate you.
42:43 I'm grateful for you.
42:46 You matter to me.
42:49 You matter to Shannon.
42:50 You matter to our family.
42:52 In fact, I was just with one of my sons, Noah yesterday.
42:58 And and I was just talking about, you know, Raiders and people.
43:04 I appreciate all of you guys.
43:06 You're wonderful people.
43:08 And if nobody else tells you today that you matter, and I'm sure that's not going to be
43:13 the case for 99% of you, you do to me and you do to my family.
43:19 So be safe.
43:20 Have a great weekend.
43:21 We'll see you back here tomorrow, of course, because we do a podcast every single day because
43:25 there's so much Raider talk to talk about so much great stuff going on in Raider Nation.
43:30 You've got every reason to be jacked up, fired up and filled up.
43:34 I hope that you have a wonderful day.
43:36 I hope you get to do something fun today.
43:39 I do go do some fun or do something fun this weekend.
43:42 And remember, tell the people in your life that they matter to you and you love them.
43:45 Bye, everybody.
43:46 Oh, follow me on Instagram at Hondo SR and on X, formerly known as Twitter at Hondo Carpenter.
43:53 Bye, everybody.