Tom Telesco’s draft history at offensive line

Looking for insights on Las Vegas’ draft strategy

Heading into the 2024 NFL Draft, the Las Vegas Raiders have major needs along the offensive line. The team could use both starters and depth at the position group with big question marks on the right side at guard and tackle. Luckily, new general manager Tom Telesco has a good track record when it comes to drafting in the trenches, so let’s dive into his history and see what trends there are between the players.

Offensive Tackle

• 2013: D.J. Fluker (Round 1: Pick 11)
• 2017: Sam Tevi (Round 6: Pick 190)
• 2019: Trey Pipkins (Round 3: Pick 91)
• 2021: Rashawn Slater (Round 1: Pick 13), Brenden Jaimes (Round 5: Pick 159)

It’s pretty clear that Telesco doesn’t mind and may even prefer drafting the guard-tackle hybrid types of offensive linemen. Fluker, Slater and Jaimes all fall into that category as well as Forrest Lamp, Zion Johnson, Jamaree Salyer and Jordan McFadden, who are listed below. Granted, the speculation about Slater being an NFL guard had more to do with his arm length than anything else.

Building on that, Telesco is like most general managers in that he has a track record of using mid-round picks on offensive tackles who have experience on both sides of the center. That’s common as swing tackles who can fill that ‘next guy off the bench’ type of role are good players to target deeper in the draft.

But what is somewhat unique is that he mentioned one of the reasons why he liked Slater — a first-round selection — at Northwestern was because of the former Wildcat’s versatility, per the Chargers’ team website. So, it seems pretty clear that linemen who have proven that they can lineup at multiple spots will get a boost on the Raiders’ draft board.

In looking at the scouting reports for all of the players listed above, another trend is that most had technical flaws but showed high-level athleticism. Again, that’s not uncommon or unique to Telesco, but it is something to keep in mind as the draft goes on as a player’s RAS might be more important than how they performed in college.

However, one noteworthy exception to the points about versatility and athleticism is Fluker. He was exclusively a right tackle at Alabama and not a good athlete after posting a 3.10 RAS. That bodes well for Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga, who only took snaps on the right edge and has questionable feet in pass protection. Granted, Fuaga did test well with a 9.63 RAS.

Another interesting trend is Telesco doesn’t seem to be concerned with arm length when it comes to tackles. Four out of the five draftees above are below the 50th percentile when it comes to arm length at the position, per MockDraftable. The one exception is Fluker, who is in the 99th percentile with his nearly 37-inch arms.

Guard

• 2014: Chris Watt (Round 3: Pick 89)
• 2016: Donovan Clark (Round 7: Pick 224)
• 2017: Forrest Lamp (Round 2: Pick 38), Dan Feeney (Round 3: Pick 71)
• 2022: Zion Johnson (Round 1: Pick 17), Jamaree Salyer (Round 6: Pick 195)
• 2023: Jordan McFadden (Round 5: Pick 156)

Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The trend of Telesco preferring more athletic offensive linemen carries over to guards, except for his 2022 draft class. Outside of that year, a common theme in the scouting reports with the players he selected was functional athleticism with questionable strength, but Johnson and Salyer were the opposite. Then, the general manager returned to form and selected McFadden the following year.

However, while Johnson’s athleticism was listed as a weakness on his scouting report, he did post a 9.73 RAS. So, while the prospect’s athletic ability didn’t necessarily show up on tape in this case, still expect the Raiders to prioritize athleticism at guard during the draft.

That being said, the one strength number to keep an eye on for interior linemen is bench press reps. Of the players listed above, the only one to put up fewer than 26 reps — which is roughly the average for the position — was McFadden, who played tackle in college and was close to the mark with 24. Diving deeper, Watt recorded 29 reps, Lamp had 34, Feeney 26, Johnson 32 and Salyer 31, according to MockDraftable.

Prospects Fits

Below is a list of a few names who fit the molds described above and their current draft projection via NFL Mock Draft Database.

• Taliese Fuaga, Oregon State 15th overall
• Troy Fautanu, Washington 19th overall
• Kiran Amegadjie, Yale 71st overall
• Dominick Puni, Kansas 85th overall
• Christian Mahogany, Boston College 93rd overall
• Delmar Glaze, Maryland 167th overall