With less than a week until the NFL Draft, fans' curiosities are going to be at their peaks as they try to guess which college prospects their favorite teams are going to select in round one.
Some team executives like to make it seem like their strategy is straight forward, but that can typically never be trusted.
Las Vegas Raiders general manager John Spytek may have revealed his preference for the team at pick No. 6 with his comments at a pre-draft news conference on Friday.
"I mean we just saw Saquon Barkley just change the Eagles in one year," he said. "There's certain ways to build a team, and I don't know where we got to a place where we don't feel like running backs are valued."
Did Raiders GM just reveal the team's first round pick will be Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty?
Spytek's comments suggest reports tying the Raiders to Boise State running back and 2024 Heisman Trophy finalist Ashton Jeanty are not entirely speculatory. Las Vegas is in need of a workhorse rusher, even though it signed Raheem Mostert, 33, this offseason.
That being said, Jeanty might be a waste of a pick that high for the Raiders. Now, before anyone starts throwing their phones in disgust, that's not a dig at Jeanty's abilities. He's certainly capable of being the next Saquon Barkley-type running back, but like Barkley, he needs the proper environment to thrive.
Las Vegas had the 23rd-best offensive line in the league last season, per Pro Football Network, earning a 69.4 (D+) grade. That simply won't do a talent like Jeanty justice.
If he's really the next Barkley-like rusher, he can't follow his path from mediocre team to Super Bowl contender. The typical career-span of a running back is 7-8 years. Barkley is an exception to that rule and there's no guarantee Jeanty will be the same.
There's always the more likely outcome that Spytek is throwing up the ultimate smokescreen by praising the running back position so blatantly. Perhaps he's actually eyeing an offensive lineman or QB Shedeur Sanders and needs the teams around him to think he's drafting elsewhere position-wise. It would honestly be the smart tactic, but only time will tell what his true intentions are.