The Las Vegas Raiders had a coin-flip call with the No.13 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. General Manager Champ Kelly has weighed in on the accuracy of this claim.
Vegas chose tight end Brock Bowers with the pick, but apparently, the decision was close.
Detroit Lions rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold, while speaking, said that the Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce told him it was a coin flip between he and Bowers at No. 13.
“(The Lions) knew that the Raiders, there was a possibility that they took me,” Arnold told The Next Round podcast. “And, actually, the Raiders coach, they called me after the draft, they were like, ‘We actually had a coin toss between you and Brock Bowers. It landed on him.'”
Perhaps Arnold meant pierce was figuratively using the phrase “coin toss’’ to imply that there was a debate over the two players and it was a close call in the Vegas draft room.
Las Vegas assistant GM Champ Kelly was asked about what Arnold said on Wednesday.
“I can’t confirm that at all,” he said. “Terrion is a good player. I’m excited to watch his career and watch him play. But we drafted Brock, and we’re excited to get him here. And I don’t think anyone else in our whole draft room felt any other way.”
“Can’t confirm” isn’t exactly “lol, no way,” but it should be presumed that Tom Telesco did not decide the team’s future with a flip’s fate.
Coin or not, the Raiders choose Bowers as another weapon to a passing offense that has Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers. One of the draft’s top talents, Vegas will use Bowers as a multifaceted weapon during this rookie campaign.
“(His) position is tight end, but we saw him as a playmaker,” Kelly said on Wednesday. “He is going to be a fun piece to have. We’ll see what defenses deploy against him when he is on the field.”
Kelly’s comment explains how the Las Vegas Raiders see Bowers and 2023 second-round tight end Michael Mayer as complementary pieces, who could spend a lot of time in Luke Getsy’s offense.
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