The Raiders, well Jon Gruden, made the interesting decision to hire Mike Mayock as the team’s general manager during the 2019 offseason. With five total first-round picks from 2019-2020, the team needed an experienced draft guy to run their war room.
Entering the 2021 season, Mayock and company now have three drafts under their belts and the results are underwhelming. If the team struggles to make the playoffs this year, could that possibly lead to a change up top?
In a recent article by ESPN’s 32 beat writers, each were assigned the task of writing up who is on the hot seat for each respective squad. For the Raiders, it was Mayock. Here is what senior writer Paul Guiterrez had to say about Mayock entering the year:
“If it’s true that draft classes cannot be fairly judged for three years, the same should be said for first-time general managers who used to be on TV as a draft expert, yes? Yes. Mayock may not have final say on personnel decisions — that’s coach Jon Gruden’s department — but his fingerprints are all over the past three draft classes, which have yielded more head-scratching picks at their draft spots (Clelin Ferrell, Johnathan Abram, Henry Ruggs III, Damon Arnette, Lynn Bowden Jr., Alex Leatherwood) than bona fide Pro Bowlers (Josh Jacobs). Fair or not, the spotlight is on Mayock in his third season as Raiders GM.”
For Mayock to keep his job, the Raiders likely do need to have some team success and his first-round picks need to pan out. That is especially true for someone like Henry Ruggs, who the team drafted at No. 12, ahead of several other elite receivers.
If players like Ruggs, Abram and Arnette continue to struggle, this team likely will finish near the bottom of the AFC. And if that is the case, the Raiders will be searching for a new general manager in 2022. Needless to say, it’s a big season for Mayock and his Raiders.
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