Tom Telesco: fact or fiction: Insights from Chargers writer on Raiders new general manager
Bolts from the Blue answers some questions for Raider Nation about the Silver and Black’s new decision-maker.
Now that free agency has begun and the NFL Draft is rapidly approaching, general manager Tom Telesco of the Las Vegas Raiders has an opportunity to make an impression. Even though this is Telesco’s first offseason with the Raiders, he has more than ten years of experience in the same capacity with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Because of this, there are several stories circulating about the new decision-maker in Las Vegas. Kyle DeDiminicantanio of Bolts from the Blue was gracious enough to comment on a number of these stories. Before getting into the specifics, DeDiminicantanio wanted to share a message with Raider Nation about the research projects he has assembled throughout Telesco’s time in San Diego and Los Angeles.
KD: Prior to commencing, Matt, I would like to express my gratitude to you for forwarding these inquiries, as well as to the Silver and Black community for reading this! I can assure you that the division rivalry isn’t the reason for any unfavorable answers!
For years, the roster-building process under Tom was a source of great frustration for me as a supporter. It also served as the impetus for numerous side projects that explored the various strategies and resources available to general managers, which only made me more bitter about Tom’s refusal to employ them.
The one thing I would hope for Raider Nation, though, is that there were a lot of rumors going about that Telesco served more as a blast shield for the Spanos family, that John Spanos was the one making most of the choices, and that when things didn’t work out, he would hide behind Tom.
In the worst-case scenario, he’ll be a very conservative rental general manager to go along with your inspiring and visionary head coach, who would be better served by a general manager with a wealth of operational knowledge. If the Tom I know shows up once AP gains some experience, my hope for the Raiders would be a short leash and a swift switch to someone who truly clicks with AP.
At best, it would be wonderful to see Tom take what he learned from the Bolts and be far more aggressive when it comes to adding depth pieces to your roster, making significant moves during the season, navigating the draft board in a way that adds value, and not depending so heavily on free agent signings to regularly fill roster gaps.
Merely my two cents I wish you all the very best in the 15 games that come around next season!
Question: A popular belief in Josh McDanielsis is that Telesco makes good first-round selections but finds it difficult to locate “diamonds in the rough” in later rounds. Does that make sense in light of your studies?
There is a perception that Telesco does well in the first and possibly second rounds but struggles in the later rounds, but I don’t really believe either of those claims to be true. When he was selecting in the first round’s top 15 and letting the cards fall to him, Tom was at his best with the Chargers.
It drove me crazy at times. In 2020, he openly declared that he was satisfied with any of the top three quarterbacks and would settle for the one that remained after the Bengals and Dolphins selected their players. Things worked out, and we ended up with Justin Herbert. However, I would have been upset if Tua Tagovailoa had been our choice instead of Justin. His perseverance paid off in future drafts, producing blue-chip stars like Derwin James and Rashawn Slater.
