John Spytek’s phone has been ringing. Teams want to know if the Las Vegas Raiders are willing to trade that No. 1 pick.
The answer? Probably not.
Spytek, the Raiders’ general manager, made it clear at Tuesday’s predraft news conference that Las Vegas is planning to use the pick on California quarterback Fernando Mendoza. But he’s not hanging up on teams who call – he’s just letting them know where things stand right now.
“We’ve gotten a few calls, and those teams know where they stand,” Spytek said.
He’s got an open-door policy when it comes to trade talks. Good deals can come together at the last minute on draft night if you’re willing to wait before turning in the card; teams get desperate, offers get better.
But there’s a line.
If there’s a player that stands out that we feel it’s not worth losing, it’s not worth even picking up the phone, then we’ll just make the pick.
That changes if the Raiders aren’t totally sold on one guy – or if there’s a group of players they’d be happy with. In that case, Spytek said, they’re open to listening if someone wants to make a move.
Mendoza would become the 30th quarterback taken first overall since the common draft era started in 1967. It’d also mark the fourth straight year a quarterback goes No. 1, which ties for the second-longest streak since they started doing things this way.
The Raiders signed Kirk Cousins this offseason. They’ve got Aidan O’Connell already on the roster. Now they’re looking at adding Mendoza to that mix – which means there’s going to be a competition at the position.
Spytek and head coach Klint Kubiak would prefer to bring a rookie quarterback along slowly behind a veteran. That’s the plan, anyway.
“Ultimately, this is a meritocracy, and the best guy will play,” Spytek said. “It’s just really hard to play really well at a young age. But we’ve seen plenty of quarterbacks do it recently. We added Kirk, we have Aidan, and we’ll see how it goes.”
Recent history isn’t on their side if they want Mendoza sitting. The last six quarterbacks drafted No. 1 – Cam Ward, Caleb Williams, Bryce Young, Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow and Kyler Murray – all started Week 1 of their rookie seasons. You have to go back to Baker Mayfield in 2018 to find one who didn’t.
Spytek knows patience is hard to come by in the NFL. Fans want results, owners want wins, and everyone’s job is on the line every Sunday.
Still, he thinks it’s necessary when you’re developing a young quarterback. There’s a lot more to the position than just throwing the ball and being a good teammate, he pointed out. A lot of these college quarterbacks have spent their entire careers in shotgun formation – they’ve never had to huddle, never had to get under center and call a cadence.
“You really got to teach some of these guys how to run a huddle, how to break a huddle, how to get under center and call a cadence,” Spytek said.
He gets it. There isn’t much patience in this business. But if you can find some – and put players in positions when they’re actually ready – that’s the best way forward.
“We all understand there’s not a ton of patience in the job that we chose here,” he added.