John Spytek doing what he needs to for Raiders to have success

HENDERSON, Nev. — Remember back in late April and the Raiders celebrated first-year general manager John Spytek’s draft?

They were praised for the most part by the draftniks around the NFL and by all indications, it appeared they had improved the roster.

Now that the preseason is over and the cuts have been made, how does Spytek look today?

Still pretty good, I would say.

Of the 11 players the Raiders drafted, nine made the 53-man roster that will take the field a week from Sunday at New England when the 2025 season kicks off against the Patriots. That’s a credit to the team’s scouts, player personnel people along with Spytek and assistant GM Brian Stark. They had very few whiffs which is important when you’re trying to plug holes throughout the roster.

But the true test is still to come. How will the rookies perform when it counts? How will they hold up physically and mentally over the course of a 17-game NFL season? What happens when they are facing the other team’s best players, unlike the preseason where oftentimes they were going up against the opposition’s second- and third-string guys?

"I don't know that I learned it, but that I'm O.K. living in that space, that hard decisions are O.K,” he said. “I think we've all, probably everybody in this room too, you've all been through a lot. I've been through a lot in my life, and at the end day, this is a job and this is football, and I take it really serious.

“I want to have a great team. I want Raider Nation to be proud. I want the players to get everything they deserve out of it. But I wanted this job for a lot of different reasons, but it's because I'm not afraid to make tough and critical decisions, and I don't think that I'm going to get them all right. I've lived through getting things wrong, and the older you get, I think you all realize you get things wrong but that you'll be O.K. But to make tough choices with conviction and then be self critical and open minded and aware enough to realize, like I got this one right, and this is why I got it right, and this one wrong, and this is why I got it wrong.

“And I'm sure we got some wrong over the past month, and we'll see, but I can promise you I'll learn from those and I'll only get better because of that."

He also had to deal with the broken wrist injury suffered by backup quarterback Aidan O’Connell in last week’s preseason finale against the Cardinals. Spytek moved quickly to get a QB with NFL experience in Kenny Pickett from Cleveland, trading a fifth-round pick to acquire him. O’Connell had surgery Wednesday and was placed on injured reserve so it will be a while before we see him back on the field.

He also added veteran depth to the receiving corps by bringing Amari Cooper back to the Silver and Black. I’m not sure how much the 30-year-old Cooper has left. He says he still has gas in his tank so let’s take him at his word until proven otherwise.

I’m not sure why Jakobi Meyers is unhappy. He is a big part of the Raiders’ plans offensively. But he picked a hell of a time to express his displeasure and seek a trade. Spytek said Wednesday that Meyers isn’t going anywhere.

Pete Carroll has worked really hard to adjust the culture at the Intermountain Health Performance Center. The majority of the Raiders players appear happy. Hell, maybe even Meyers will change his tune and continue his upward trajectory from a year ago. He shouldn’t be offended playing second fiddle to Brock Bowers, who is arguably one of the top three tight ends in the league. If thinks he’s better than Cooper, let him prove it out on the practice field. And if the Raiders are going to be successful and move up in the AFC West and challenge for a spot in the playoffs, they’re going to need everybody contributing and give quarterback Geno Smith the best chance of succeeding.

But Spytek said he consulted with Carroll before making any moves, either adding or subtracting players.

"I think it started with Coach and I being on the same page from the get go last year, and we had a lot to get accomplished in a short period of time when he and I both got here,” Spytek said. “Worked with his staff, worked together, try to sort through the different scouting reports that I had my background and what I would look for in draft picks and all that. And ultimately, we knew from the start that we were looking for the same kind of football player, the same kind of makeup, and then I thought Coach and I brought that to life in the draft.

“And we've talked from the start about building and fostering a culture that thrives on competition, and that if you can't meet that challenge every day, if it's too much from you, you won't have a very good chance to be here long-term. And when we drafted those guys, I think I can remember sitting up here, whatever it was four months ago, and saying that we'll see how they do physically.

“But I was convinced that they were the right kind of person that could survive in this culture. And I think nine of those guys making that is a testament to that, because it was a hard training camp, and it was a lot for all of them, but they showed up every day because they love to play and love to compete, and they're the right kind of people we want to build this program on."