As Tom Brady closed out a solid, one-gloved broadcast Sunday in Buffalo, his attention no doubt turned to—or was already leaning toward—the NFL draft. Buoyed by some swift administrative work that had Las Vegas’s two best players off the field, a lifeless Raiders club was roundly beaten by the Giants, a team that had not won on the road since Jan. 5, in a meaningless end-of-season game against the Eagles in Philadelphia.
This all but secured the Raiders the No. 1 pick at a critical juncture. The franchise has not made the playoffs since 2021, under interim coach Rich Bisaccia. Before that? In 2016, under Jack Del Rio. Before that? Their Super Bowl season in 2002. The Raiders have been a case study in personality disorder, having tried on so many different identities in such a short period of time that the remaining pieces are merely cockroach survivors, not building blocks.
