“Everybody Wants To Play GM These Days”
April 11th, 2024
The Bucs held their ground.
What irony coming from a guy who used to play GM — and play it very well — but then became an actual NFL general manager.
Mike Mayock was the NFL Network premier draft guru for many years before the Raiders hired to him to team up with Jon Gruden. You may remember Gruden, the man whose behavior was so horrific, Team Glazer felt compelled to dishonor history and rip him from the Buccaneers Ring of Honor.
Mayock hasn’t returned to the NFL since the Raiders fired him after the 2020 season, but he told the 3 and Out podcast last week that five teams called him with offers. Currently, Mayock is calling NFL games on radio and scouting for an outfit that contracts with some NFL teams.
One thing that caught Joe’s ear on Mayock’s podcast chat was his take on the 2019 NFL Draft. The Raiders had the No. 4 pick just before Tampa Bay. They took defensive tackle Clelin Ferrell, who has never played like a No. 4 overall pick.
Mayock seemed like he’s still a little frustrated by fans who didn’t like his decision.
“I think the general public, everybody wants to play GM these days in this fantasy football world and they’re like, ‘Yeah, just trade out of that pick.’ They have no idea how hard I tried to trade out of that No. 4 pick [in 2019,] Mayock said. “Bottom line … I would have loved to move down, but we couldn’t.”
It is an important concept for draft observers to realize. Trade options don’t always exist. However, Joe thinks Mayock is missing the bigger point, which is that nobody forced him to draft Ferrell.
For Joe, that 2019 scenario is evidence that Bucs GM Jason Licht had a great handle on his draft board. The Bucs had the No. 5 overall pick and, apparently, not only did Licht pass on trading up with Mayock, Licht seemed to know the Raiders wouldn’t find another trade-down partner. The Bucs got their man at No. 5 in Devin White, who was a critical cog in the 2020 Super Bowl team.
April 11th, 2024 at 11:11 am
Mayock blew tons of picks. I can’t imagine five teams offered him jobs near the GM level. I can’t imagine he’s turned down any on air offers from mainstream television, either. He and Matt Millen should team up.
April 11th, 2024 at 11:28 am
Mayock.
Made for TV but not ready for primetime.
April 11th, 2024 at 11:30 am
Can’t these guys just eat some crow once in a while lol? The egos man…
The main criticism was the reach on the player. Most every person in mock communities had Josh Allen/ Devin White / Ed Oliver / TJ Hockenson rated higher.
They were all right. You were wrong. Had nothing to do with trading out of the pick.
April 11th, 2024 at 11:34 am
“Team Glazer felt compelled to dishonor history and rip him from the Buccaneers Ring of Honor.”
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There was some dishonoring going on but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t being committed by the Glazers. Chucky deserved it. SB victory be damned. Make him wait and let him sweat it out.
April 11th, 2024 at 11:48 am
My biggest fear is the top 3 Edge rushers are gone along with JPJ and Barton. Then JL can’t find a partner to trade back with for #26. What then?
Hopefully not a CB or WR. If the Bucs have to reach at that point, I would not be upset with Zach Frazier. He has a late 1st/early 2nd grade. Maybe Braswell, Isaac or Kneeland but all of them have 2nd rd grades. Not a fan of Chop.
April 11th, 2024 at 12:15 pm
Mayock’s not a real GM – but he plays one on TV….
Raiders and Bucs both blew their top 5 picks in 2019. Both should have selected Josh Allen instead of Ferrel or White.
April 11th, 2024 at 12:42 pm
What makes this worse is all of the AI driven draft simulators that offer you insane trades like candy.
The PFF one in particular is worse than madden lol. Kind of a joke. People need to realize that is not the GM’s reality.
April 11th, 2024 at 12:44 pm
Yeah the glazers are the jerks in this. 🙄
Print the comments from chucky about them, without edits. You won’t. That’s why he was removed. But you won’t tell that story.
April 11th, 2024 at 12:51 pm
Too bad the Bucs have coaching that oversees the regression of defensive players, And schemes to their weaknesses.
April 11th, 2024 at 12:52 pm
Bucs guy, if the WR is Thomas Jr. I am ok with it, assuming the guys you mentioned are gone. CB or DL would also be fine but I agree, Frazier would be decent but a trade back at that point would be nice.
Also correct Pickgrin. We needed ILB but edge is the higher value. Looked ok for the first 2 years and now it’s back to being the mistake it was at the time.
April 11th, 2024 at 1:01 pm
Seriously Joe, can you go just one article without praising Jason Licht? This topic had nothing to do with him, yet you had to spin it into how much of a genius he was to select the lazy malcontent Devin White (while most of Buc Nation was screaming for Josh Allen). Seriously, do you have a mandate from the man himself that he must be mentioned in a positive light in every single article?
April 11th, 2024 at 1:08 pm
People have been playing armchair GM (anyone remember the SPtimes bulletin board called ArmChairQB?) since the beginning of football. Has nothing to do with fantasy football.
April 11th, 2024 at 1:08 pm
Jason Licht should be mentioned in every paragraph of every JBF article. He has selected players who can excel in spite of the head coach, and when he gets the chance to select his next head coach, we will see multiple double digit winning seasons.
April 11th, 2024 at 1:17 pm
Licht is damn good at his job. Prob bucs best GM since I have been a fan
April 11th, 2024 at 1:18 pm
The NFL is going to pay for what they did to Gruden.
April 11th, 2024 at 1:55 pm
If all our targets at 26 are gone and no one wants to trade with us then JL will choose BPA regardless of just about any position. (QB ?)
Go Bucs!!!
April 11th, 2024 at 2:04 pm
Good point, Pickgrin.
April 11th, 2024 at 2:25 pm
This is what I’ve got for them roght and now:
1st round: DARIUS ROBINSON (DE/DT Missouri)
2nd round: MIKE SAINRISTIL (CB Michigan)
3rd round: CEDRIC GRAY (LB North Carolina)
3rd round: SEDRICK VAN PRAN (OL Georgia)
4th round: DEWAYNE CARTER (DT Duke)
6th round: FRANK GORE JR (RB Southern Mississippi)
7th round: TEHJUAN PALMER (WR UAB) (he’s a sleeper)
Yeah I’m sure some people will have something to say about it & anything can change between now & then.
April 11th, 2024 at 2:26 pm
This is what I’ve got for them right now:
1st round: DARIUS ROBINSON (DE/DT Missouri)
2nd round: MIKE SAINRISTIL (CB Michigan)
3rd round: CEDRIC GRAY (LB North Carolina)
3rd round: SEDRICK VAN PRAN (OL Georgia)
4th round: DEWAYNE CARTER (DT Duke)
6th round: FRANK GORE JR (RB Southern Mississippi)
7th round: TEHJUAN PALMER (WR UAB) (he’s a sleeper)
Yeah I’m sure some people will have something to say about it & anything can change between now & then.
April 11th, 2024 at 2:29 pm
Wow” Im impressed that this is the first time I have agreed with what Boss said and it’s positive on top of that. Bravo Boss Bravo
April 11th, 2024 at 2:43 pm
What in the actual H Joe
“You may remember Gruden, the man whose behavior was so horrific, Team Glazer felt compelled to dishonor history and rip him from the Buccaneers Ring of Honor.”
Didn’t think you were part of the “cancel culture”. Roger Goodell is one of the most narcissistic, polarizing dictators in any sports league. The leak was a new low for him. Be a man about the policing. How many Bucs and Raiders players supported Gruden for his “insensitive” emails. Give you a hint. EVERY player. The man deserves to be in the Ring of Honor. Don Imus, Donald Sterling, Fuzzy Zoeller, John Rocker he is not. He has the respect of every single person he has coached and deserved a chance to make amends for being insensitive, not treated like a racist great grandfather. Remember actions speaks more loudly than words and the punishment needs to fit the crime. Again how many players had an issue with Gruden?
You seemed to have missed the sarcasm in Joe’s typing–Joe
April 11th, 2024 at 3:23 pm
Fantasy football is killing the NFL year by year and soon they want have no defensive players in the hall of fame because every year they take away from the defense. That’s why I don’t believe in goats especially in today’s football. Brady became Brady after the 07 season when he got hurt and they pass a rule that you can’t hit the quarterback low. And it made it easier for him because he played in time when football was real back in highschool and college. I’m sick of the NFL watering down the game by making rules against the defense and then want to give the offensive players goat status. Soon it’s going to be hard to determine who’s a hall of famer because it’s getting easier by the year to put up big numbers. That’s why I will always believe that the quarterbacks were better in the 90s than today. Coaches don’t even teach quarterbacks today when they’re being rattle in the pocket according to Brett Farvue because they don’t get hot hard anymore.
April 11th, 2024 at 3:51 pm
3 most important pieces of a team; ownership, GM and HC. It’s sort of fascinating trying to figure out how they see the team (usually a helluva lot differently than the fans) and see how the GM’s try to outmaneuver each other. Lots of fans on blogs are like “why don’t they pick up (w/e superstar)”…not that easy boys.
April 11th, 2024 at 5:33 pm
Give Mayock a break. You know it wasn’t him with final say. Gruden had all the juice in Oakland/LV.
April 12th, 2024 at 9:52 am
LOL he is saying many people dont realize you cant just do whatever? isnt that sometimes your complaining joe of bcus can just do anything and just let the accountants worry about it? seems contradictory