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Combine extended eligibility granted during the COVID-19 pandemic alongside Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) coin and opportunities and it’s no surprise the scouting landscape changed for many NFL teams.
Add the wrinkle of the Transfer Portal into that mix and prospects are staying in college longer resulting in “older” draft eligible players entering the NFL Draft. What used to be a field of 20 and 21 year old’s is now one that has rookies 24 or older. And the longstanding red flag of age is being flipped on its head.
In accordance with that, the 32 squads are presented with choice: Adapt or get left behind.
Las Vegas Raiders general manager John Spytek has no intentions of getting dusted.
When asked about how he evaluates age now and how much does it detract from a player’s upside during his media session at the NFL Scouting Combine earlier this past week, Spytek didn’t stutter.
“I wouldn’t say it detracts a ton. Our analytics department gets mad at me anytime we put a guy up there that’s a little bit older, that’s in a sixth year and whatever, but we’re just looking for good football players, and there’s a million things that we evaluate as part of the process,” the Raiders GM said. “And it’s a little bit of a unique spot in college right now with some of the guys coming off that COVID year and getting extra years and six years and seven years, you see now too. So, we’re just looking for good football players at the end of the day.”
Hearing Spytek expand on how he approaches NIL showcases he’s a personnel man that is adjusting to what’s presented to him in the draft. And as he went on, you heard the Raiders general manager’s insight on how money for college athletes is a positive thing — likely a unique perspective.
“I actually think it’s made it easier, because you know what the guys are going to do when they have money,” Spytek said when asked how challenging the evaluation of a prospect’s hunger for the game with NIL coin. “I mean, you know the ones that love the game and are about the right things, and just because they’ve got more money than we all had when we were in college, they still prepare the right way, they play the right way, they love the game, they’re there for their teammates, and I think it’s kind of been a little been illuminating to the character of who they are.”
There are intriguing prospects that are 24 and older as we progress through the combine and head towards the draft in April. From Miami edge rusher Akheem Mesidor (25 in April), Texas Tech edge David Bailey (24), LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane (24), LSU quarterback Garret Nussmeier (24), Clemson offensive tackle Blake Miller (24) and Arizona State offensive tackle Max Iheanachor, the mature prospect list has impressive prospects.
And by all appearances, Spytek won’t be deterred adding an older rookie to the roster so long as they have passion for the game and are good players for a Raiders team that doesn’t have enough of them.
Curious to know what kind of intangibles Spytek looks for in a draft prospect?
“Humility, a great passion to play the game of football. It’s such a hard game. Your competitive spirit has to run really high. You’ve got to be willing to play through a bunch of tough circumstances,” Spytek explained. “And to me, it always goes back to the love of the game. The guys that truly love the game of football, they love to practice, they love to prepare, they love to watch film, they love to play hurt. So, I mean those things — I’m kind of uncompromising on those things.”
The 2026 class will mark the second in Spytek’s tenure as the Raiders chief personnel man. And Klint Kubiak is the second head coach the GM will be building a roster with. The first-year head coach inherits the 2025 draft class Spytek selected alongside former coach Pete Carroll.
“Yeah, of course. I mean, I saw them every day in practice. I saw them get better. It was good to see a lot of them play more at the end of the year and have success,” Spytek began when asked for an early assessment of his 2025 draft class, “I mean, Tonka (Hemingway) had a bunch of sacks the last few games. JJ (Pegues) had had a chance to play. Charles Grant got two and a half quarters. So, I’m comfortable with where those guys are at.
“They’re about the right things. They’re football guys first. They’re in the building training every day. I don’t think Caleb Rogers has missed a day since the season ended right now. So, I’m happy with those guys. They’re on the right path.”
And this offseason, it’ll be Kubiak working alongside Spytek to build a roster that puts the head coach in the best possible position to succeed. And the Raiders aren’t hurting in terms of assets to use this offseason, be it cap space (projected to be at or slightly below the $90-million mark) and draft picks (10, and perhaps more in the form of compensatory selections).
There are obvious roster holes that need to be filled — namely quarterback — and navigating the flush cap room and bringing in free agents smartly to drafting for need or best player available will be a challenge. And Spytek isn’t shy to admit it’s going to be quite the task.
“Yeah, that’s kind of the chess match of all of it, like the team building part of it. So, we’re working through that right now, and we’ll figure that out. But I mean, you can pass in free agency thinking you’re going to get one in the draft and then leave a massive hole on your roster too. So, we’ll come up with a strategy and attack it the best we can.”
With pragmatic Kubiak as his head coach, it’s going to be intriguing how the two go about building the Raiders through 2026 and beyond.