Bill Williamson, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Inclusion is key for Raiders' brass as they prepare for draft

Jack Del Rio has not coached one game as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders. But if the preparations for next week’s draft are any indication, it is clear he and general manager Reggie McKenzie are on the same page in a key area.

They aren't saying much about the draft.

McKenzie and Del Rio sat together to meet the press in an NFL-mandated pre-draft press conference Friday and said little. The pair gave no clues of their plans and no indication of anything, really. But what was clear is the two are working in lockstep, and that’s a key development.

It was well known before owner Al Davis died in 2011 that the draft was his baby. When McKenzie took over in 2012, he was the head of the draft and he still is. But Del Rio’s presence at the press conference showed that he has a voice in the process as well. At the top of the press conference, McKenzie joked and asked if someone could get De Rio out of his office.

“Reggie has been great about being inclusive and watching the process,” Del Rio said. “The coaching evaluation is one aspect of it. Our guys have worked very hard and their input has been taken into consideration, along with all the works that the scouts do year-round in terms of gathering background information and getting a feel for the players. So it’s just one piece of the big process of going through these guys and evaluating them.”

Del Rio said inclusion of everyone involved in the process is necessary for success.

“The one thing I would offer up on that subject would be that I think the importance, in my opinion, is the inclusiveness to validate and value the work that is done by the scouts and by the coaches that do a great job of digging and researching and calling around and watching tape and just spending time trying to help us determine where a player belongs for a rank on our board,” Del Rio said. “I think Reggie does a great job of being inclusive and gathering information that way. I think that’s where it starts.”

McKenzie said he hopes the experience and continuity of having the same scouting staff together for a third draft will help for the Raiders, who had a terrific draft last year.

“This is the third year that we’ve been together doing this, so it will get better with each year with that,” McKenzie said. “Just a better feel for each other, and that grows the more you’re around each other. Then it’s second nature with how each other feels about players. It will get nothing but stronger that way.”

Whatever happens, the Raiders seem bent on doing it together, which has been a theme this year. Owner Mark Davis took a much bigger role in the hiring of Del Rio than he did when McKenzie hired Dennis Allen as coach three years ago. Now, it seems Del Rio is more involved in the draft than Allen was.

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