While we all wait for the draft to start – if it's ever going to – may I suggest a fun thought exercise about Tom Brady? And when I say fun, I mean that it's better than, like, going to the dentist. Don't expect a ton, basically.
But here's how it works: you think about a Raiders decision and wonder, did Tom Brady make this decision? I told you to lower your expectations.
Ever since Brady came to the Raiders in some sort of ownership role, there's been plenty of speculation about how involved he is on the day-to-day stuff. There have been small little anecdotes here and there about how he plays something of a closer role in offseason moves for Geno Smith and Maxx Crosby, but otherwise, he's kept a pretty low profile.
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The next big window into his role will show up next weekend during the draft. Surely there will be a war room cam or two – the content team's gotta do something – and it'll be fascinating to see whether or not Brady makes an appearance. And even if he doesn't show his face, there's plenty of people out there who think Brady's influence will be heavily felat regardless – including The Athletic's draft guru Dane Brugler, who wrote about it some in his latest 7-round mock.
Tom Brady gets the Raiders a Michigan Man in The Athletic's latest NFL mock draft
"Newly hired general manager John Spytek prioritizes pass rush over everything else on defense. Graham doesn’t have ideal length and isn’t on the same level as a Quinnen Williams-type prospect, but he deconstructs blocks consistently and becomes a problem for offenses. Spytek and his boss, Tom Brady, being Michigan alums doesn’t hurt, either."
I guess you could also mention John Spytek's Michigan influence, but let's not pretend that Spytek has the same SEO juice. This is a Brady thing, through and through. I'm now convinced that the Raiders-Michigan thing is going to be the new Eagles-Georgia thing. And that worked out pretty well for them, so who's to say it's really such a bad habit after all?
All in all, it probably doesn't mean a whole lot. I would imagine Brady has way better places to be on a late April weekend than stuck in front of a TV watching the NFL Draft, because we all have way better places to be on a late April weekend than stuck in front of a TV watching the NFL Draft. But if you wanted to cook up your own little harmless Raiders conspiracy theory between now and the first round, this isn't a bad place to start.