Virtually speaking, Raiders GM getting up to speed

In a typical draft-day scenario, Raiders general manager Mike Mayock is working in a well populated draft room, filled with all the various Raiders decision-makers, talent evaluators and coaching staff members.

Meanwhile, a staffer is always stationed nearby to alert Mayock if another team or two wants to jump in on trade talk. The leverage created by multiple teams pitching offers could mean the Raiders end up with a much better deal than originally imagined.

The key is being organized, nimble and swift. Communication is vital.

But this year’s NFL draft is anything but typical. The COVID-19 crisis has shuttered team headquarters and draft rooms all across the league, forcing everyone to individually execute their roles from the quarantined comforts of their own homes. In the Raiders’ case, that means Mayock and head coach Jon Gruden orchestrating one of the most pivotal drafts in recent memory from their homes in Northern California.

No longer able to communicate face to face or instantaneously tap into the information and data provided by the small army of assistants and staff members an arm’s length away, they will instead rely on technology to stay as connected and cohesive as possible, with each other, the 31 other teams in the league and, of course, the draft-eligible players spread out across the country.

It will be quite the undertaking, to say the least.

“I hope there is no impact,” Mayock said last week in a conference call with reporters.

The NFL, sensing potential issues, will conduct a virtual two-round mock draft beginning at 1 p.m. ET on Monday to simulate the real thing later this week. To protect each team’s actual draft plans, the teams will draft former great players rather than this year’s draft-eligible players. In an effort to make it as realistic as possible, mock trades will be made as well.

The hope is to detect and address any potential glitches so that the real draft goes off as seamlessly as possible.

One of the challenges for Mayock is getting up to speed on all the various communication tools he’ll be utilizing. He’s an old soul by nature, but understands the importance of stepping out of his comfort zone.

“And I’m 100 years old,” Mayock quipped. “So I’ve got to sit here and figure out how to screen share and have four different people on one screen and make sure I understand if there are multiple trades going on at the same time, how we are handling it, how we are communicating?

“Are we texting? Can I see anything visually? So, really that’s the challenge for me because I’m not very good at that kind of stuff. It’s a lot easier when somebody is sitting across from me and passing me a note saying, ‘Hey, Atlanta wants to talk to you,’ while I’m on the phone with Detroit.”

Preparation will be critical, and Monday’s exercise is one step in that process.

“I’m kind of old school in the sense that I think if you practice enough at anything, you can get good at it.” Mayock said. “So I’m anxious to get the communications stuff into my house. I’m anxious to get everybody around the country that I need to communicate with together.”

If there is any silver lining to the near month-long lockdown, it’s that Mayock and his staff have already begun the process of conducting business in a virtual manner. That experience should come in handy during the draft.

They’ve already conducted interviews with prospective draftees virtually via Zoom.

“Our coaches have done an unbelievable job of preparing information to challenge the college player via Zoom,” Mayock said. “I don’t even know how many we’ve done so far, but it’s been pretty cool spending up to an hour with each of these individual kids and getting to know them that way.

“From a draft process, we’re all doing it the same way. Nobody has an advantage. The Raiders are 100 percent prepared and ready to go. We’re excited about this draft. I don’t think it necessarily hurts anybody. We’re all playing by the same rules.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore onTwitter.