Former Las Vegas Raiders GM names the team’s QB plan that fell through in 2024 draft, he threw for 3,775 yards

Tom Telesco may have been one pick away from keeping his job

When Telesco took over as the GM of the Raiders, he felt there was a job to do in rebuilding the core of the team before dropping a quarterback into the starting lineup. He said he felt the infrastructure wasn’t there to support a young QB, so their plan for the 2024 draft was to focus on rebuilding the core of the roster first.

However, he did talk about the quarterbacks in significant detail. The Raiders were picking at 13, but saw six quarterbacks go off the board before they had the chance to take one.

Telesco very quickly shut down rumors of a potential trade-up, unless it had been for Jayden Daniels. That ruled out Caleb Williams, which could have been because they didn’t value him as a franchise quarterback or because they knew he was going first overall.

While discussing a potential trade, Telesco said:

“Jayden Daniels would have been easy. That’s an easy one. But then, when we got into JJ McCarthy, Bo Nix, and Michael Penix Jr., as far as trading up for those guys. That I was not as much into, trading up for one of those quarterbacks. To give up that many assets, because we were going to have to give up a lot, a lot of draft picks, and we needed as many as possible to build up the team.”

The former GM went on to explain that he was not a fan of the Penix pick, largely due to the storied injury history he had in his college career. When asked if he would have been the pick if he were available at #13, Telesco said no.

“Taking a quarterback that high, that has to be a concern. At this point, he hasn’t had any issues and hopefully he’s good to go, but that was a bit of a concern.”

What he did hint at is that the Raiders likely would have taken Bo Nix should he have been available.

“Bo Nix, his background of work, his durability, his movement skills. That one was interesting, and he’s gone to the perfect team. That would have been a good possibility (with the 13th pick).”

Nix was selected 12th overall by the Denver Broncos, one pick before Telesco and the Raiders. They eventually opted for Brock Bowers as the best player available, which has proven to be a great pick, but not enough for Telesco to keep his job.

In the 2024 season, the Broncos’ rookie quarterback threw for 3,775 passing yards and 29 touchdowns, putting him 6th among NFL quarterbacks.

Given Bo Nix’s performance, Telesco would likely still have a job with the Raiders had he fallen just one pick further.

Telesco believed he had more time with the Raiders

During the interview, Tom Telesco did hint at the idea that he’d have a couple of years to rebuild the roster. He spoke of the strategy to rebuild the talent level on both sides of the ball before committing to a quarterback, believing he would have the time to lay the foundations before selecting a QB in the future.

In the 2024 NFL draft, the team selected Bowers, followed by center Jackson Powers-Johnson in round two, and tackle Delmar Glaze in round three.

It was clear they were looking to rebuild the trenches in anticipation of a franchise quarterback, but never got the chance to do so.

Telesco was fired in early January, following a disappointing 4-13 season. The Raiders had attempted to split the quarterback reps between free agent signing Gardner Minshew and 2023 fourth-round draft pick Aidan O’Connell.