Raiders send scouts home for draft period … A bit of a bizarre story out of Oakland by Ian Rapoport of NFL.com who is reporting that the Raiders have sent their entire scouting staff home for the long weekend and don’t expect them back until after the draft. According to the report Raiders head coach Jon Gruden and first-year G.M. Mike Mayock “don’t know who to trust” among the scouts. It makes a little bit of sense in that most of the Raiders’ personnel staff are holdovers from the previous administration, but it also means that Gruden and Mayock will be flying a little blind when the draft starts next week. Presumably, the Raiders board is set for the draft which gets underway in just 6 days, but one would assume that area and regional scouts are likely to be more familiar with some of the specifics related to many prospects, especially those still on the board into the later rounds. And its a crucial draft for the rebuilding Raiders who hold the 4th, 24th, 27th and 35th picks in this year’s lottery.
