Silver And Black Pride
While the Las Vegas Raiders are set to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 9, the majority of this week’s mailbag questions are focused on general manager John Spytek, head coach Pete Carroll and the Raiders’ roster. Without further ado, let’s get to your questions!
Q: Ashton Jeanty and Dont’e Thornton are the only rookies getting much playing time. Does this demonstrate a disconnect between Spytek and Carroll?
A: I don’t think so. I know I sound like a broken record at this point, but Spytek drafted a lot of guys who are high-upside project types rather than “pro-ready” prospects. Also, a lot of the players he took fit the profiles that Carroll looks for, with Darien Porter being the best example, and it’s no coincidence that Thornton has drawn comparisons to DK Metcalf. To me, that signals they were working together and in lockstep on the draft class.
Now, I mentioned last week that I could see the general manager stepping in and asking/telling the head coach to start playing more of the rookies, given the direction the season is heading in for Las Vegas. If that doesn’t happen and the team continues to lose, I could see a rift between the two forming. But right now, I wouldn’t say there is a disconnect between Spytek and Carroll.
A: I completely understand why people are frustrated with Spytek for the reasons you listed. Outside of Jeanty, there have been little to no immediate returns from the 2025 draft class, and his biggest veteran addition, Geno Smith, has been terrible.
For me, I don’t think ‘confidence’ is necessarily the right word to describe my feelings toward Spytek; ‘belief’ or ‘hopeful’ would be better descriptions, if that makes sense. Essentially, I don’t have enough evidence to comfortably pound the table for him, but I’m also not going to write off a general manager after one offseason, especially when I had an idea that the early returns on the draft class were going to be low.
I know it’s frustrating to hear, but Spytek is following in his mentor’s (Buccaneers GM Jason Licht) footsteps when it comes to roster building by drafting and developing players, and that approach takes time to flesh out. But when it works and comes to fruition, it’s the best way to build a sustainable winning organization.
Also, to clarify here, the third-rounder Las Vegas gave up for Geno Smith was in this past draft. It was the pick they got from the Jets in the Davante Adams trade.
A: Pro Football Focus had the Raiders’ offensive line ranking 29th with a pass-blocking efficiency rating of 79.8 in the first three weeks of the season, and then improving to tied for eighth at 87.5 from Weeks 4-7. The running game followed a similar trend. Ashton Jeanty went from a negative two-yard difference between his total rushing yards and rushing yards after contact (144 to 146) in the first three games to plus 63 yards (301 to 238)...
