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- The Oakland Raiders sent home their scouts one week before the NFL draft because GM Mike Mayock does not know who to trust, according to a report.
- Some in the NFL argued that this is normal for a team with a new GM, but others suggested the report is still abnormal and suggests the team is worried about leaks.
- Teams reportedly do not overhaul their scouting departments before the draft, but it's worth wondering if the Raiders should have once they hired Mayock.
- Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.
With the NFL draft one week away, the Oakland Raiders are shrinking the size of their inner-circle, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
On Friday, Rapoport reported that the Raiders new GM Mike Mayock and head coach Jon Gruden sent home their scouts for the weekend and through the lead-up to the draft. While Rapoport said some teams send their scouts home early, in the Raiders' case, the early dismissal is over concerns of trust.
"Mike Mayock does not know who he can trust with his draft secrets," Rapoport said. "He does not know who he can talk to, who he can kind of confide in. It's no surprise there's gonna be some significant turnover in the scouting department for the Raiders after the draft."
Some in the NFL world pushed back against the report, saying that it's not unusual for teams to send home their scouts before the draft. That is especially true for teams with new GMs, who often want to revamp various departments to bring in people they prefer.
The Athletic's Tim Kawakami noted that teams often wait until after the draft to change over their scouting departments and that there can be tension between the two parties during that time frame.
Perhaps the Raiders felt that there was too little time in between hiring Mayock (December 31, 2018) and the combine and draft to overhaul their scouting department.
The wisdom of this can still be debated. The Raiders have been in flux since Gruden was hired, trading two of their best players in Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper away and firing previous GM Reggie McKenzie. They have three first-round picks and four picks in the top 35. This draft is crucial in rebuilding the team, and the team would presumably want "their guys" on-board for such a crucial moment.
If the Raiders had concerns about who to trust in their scouting department, perhaps it would have been better to rebuild the department prior to the draft.
Sending home their scouts signals they are worried about leaks. Sending home the scouts may also mean that some of the leaks about the Raiders plans may have been accurate.
There have been rumors that the Raiders could eye trading up in the draft to take Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray. Other rumors have suggested that they like other quarterbacks in the draft such as Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins. Such rumors call into question the future of current quarterback Derek Carr, who is just two years into a five-year, $125 million contract.
Kawakami also pointed out that even if the move isn't entirely unusual, other teams aren't having this same issue.
Ultimately, the Raiders will attempt to keep their cards close to their chest. Even with a surplus of picks to reshape the team, it's clear there is more rebuilding to do internally.