Raiders Opinion: Mayock’s Smooth Early Moves

Quietly, Mike Mayock is on his way to proving to be quite the find for the Oakland Raiders. Admit it; you thought the Pittsburgh Steelers would at least get the Silver and Black’s second-round pick. Pick No. 35 would be the least they would take for Antonio Brown.

Instead, Missile Mike got AB for a pair of 2019 selections, a third- and fifth-round pick.

Read that again: third- and fifth-round draft selections for arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL.

“Mayock is a talented general manager and a tough negotiator,” super-agent and Brown advocate Drew Rosenhaus said on NFL Network Sunday. “Any chance you could take him back? He is a hard guy to strike a bargain with. … “He did a good job. You would’ve thought he was a veteran NFL general manager. He was very sharp and very professional. He actually worked on Antonio’s deal with me.”

Turns out, the TV Twins (Mayock and Jon Gruden) can not only sync up but form a formidable duo. The pair gave us the Steal Curtain and the Nerves of Steal in one fell swoop.

While Brown’s trade and arrival was met with bombastic overtures, Mayock quietly completed two maneuvers the same day with the exodus of Kelechi Osemele to the New York Jets and bringing back Jonathan Hankins.

The Raiders were trying to move KO for some time and, appeared rescinded to the fact they would outright release the once-mauling and powerful guard. Instead, the team sent him and a sixth-round pick east in return for a fifth-round selection. Better to get something than nothing.

And, to show Mayock is indeed listening and getting his coaches what they want, Hankins’ return means defensive coordinator Paul Guenther gets to keep a nose tackle in the stable — one that rotates with Justin “Jelly” Ellis.