The draft process that led Raiders to Nate Hobbs

It wasn’t arsenic if the Raiders had a debased people connected Nate Hobbs arsenic they were stacking their 2021 draught board. But thing wasn’t sitting good with 1 of their country scouts aft watching Hobbs enactment retired astatine Illinois’ pro time past March.

Hobbs excelled successful the workout, blazing a 4.5 40-yard dash and producing a 41-inch vertical leap. The trial numbers, coupled with his businesslike crippled tape, suggested the people the Raiders had fixed the young cornerback was excessively low.

Not consenting to fto the discrepancy slide, the scout called wide manager Mike Mayock with a not-so-subtle request.

“Mike, bash maine a favour and get your eyes connected Nate Hobbs” is however Mayock remembered the speech going.

The events that unfolded adjacent connection a peek into the synergy betwixt Mayock’s unit and that of caput manager Jon Gruden, including caller antiaircraft coordinator Gus Bradley and his adjunct coaches.

It created an improbable way that led the Raiders to draught Hobbs, who volition marque his debut connected Monday Night Football against the Baltimore Ravens arsenic the Raiders’ starting slot cornerback.

None of which would person happened had a heady Raiders scout simply been satisfied with the presumption quo, oregon Mayock didn’t heed the scout’s proposition to instrumentality a deeper dive into Hobbs and not instantly instrumentality the caller accusation to the Raiders’ coaching staff.

“This is benignant of what I deliberation scouting is each about,” Mayock said. “And successful our building, wherever the coaches are truthful involved, it’s adjacent a amended story.”

As soon arsenic Mayock wrapped up the telephone with the scout, helium loaded up crippled footage of Hobbs, a formerly unheralded precocious schoolhouse enlistee from Louisville who was a precocious summation to Lovie Smith’s 2017 Illinois recruiting class.

Always the underdog, Hobbs pushed his mode past much acclaimed prospects to go a three-year starter and 1 of the astir carnal antiaircraft backs successful the rugged Big 10. In the process, helium planted himself connected the NFL draught radar.

But arsenic the Raiders’ draught people showed — and it mirrored the statement astir the league — Hobbs wasn’t precisely making a tally up the draught board.

As Mayock settled successful to ticker portion of Hobbs, it was evident radical were overlooking him.

“He tackles. He’s tough,” Mayock remembers thinking. “He’s a three-year starter successful the Big Ten. This was a hard-nosed, pugnacious guy. And helium conscionable ran 4.45 and jumped 41 inches.”

Mayock was astir startled erstwhile helium yet looked astatine the clock. “I spent astir 2 hours watching him,” Mayock said.

The setup astatine the Raiders’ installation puts Mayock and the scouting unit connected 1 level and Gruden and his unit connected another. The coaching unit works intimately with Mayock and his unit successful identifying the accomplishment sets, traits and characteristics players request to excel successful their circumstantial schemes.

“Every gathering is different,” Mayock said. “Trust me, I spent 18 years astatine the NFL Network being successful each the buildings, and everybody does their jobs differently. We’re a coach-driven gathering with our scouts.”

Mayock remembers sprinting retired of his bureau to spell find caller Raiders secondary manager Ron Milus, Bradley’s highly regarded adjunct noted for his agelong way grounds of identifying and processing top-notch NFL secondary players.

Milus is besides a no-nonsense, brutally honorable sounding board. In different words, the cleanable go-to for Mayock to either verify oregon sprout down his increasing admiration for Hobbs.

“Milo, get your oculus connected this guy, please,” Mayock told Milus. “And archer maine what you think. Today.”

An hour-and-a-half later, Milus reported backmost to Mayock with a satisfied look.

“We got something,” Milus told Mayock, informing him that the toughness, quickness and aggressiveness Hobbs displayed made him a cleanable campaigner to modulation from extracurricular cornerback to the slot.

“So each of a abrupt present we benignant of propulsion him up the committee a small spot more,” Mayock said. “The coaches similar him. The scouts similar him.”

Not agelong after, the Raiders did a Zoom telephone with Hobbs successful which they pushed him mentally by throwing each sorts of Raiders’ verbiage and concepts astatine him. The situation was to spot however rapidly Hobbs could digest the accusation and spit it backmost astatine them, intricacies and all.

“He knocked it retired the park,” Mayock said. “He got each the concepts immediately. I was connected the Zoom call, I saw. It wasn’t similar I heard astir it; I was connected the call. He got each the concepts. The coaches drilled him. He got an A+ connected that drill.”

The instrumentality astatine that constituent was to fig retired wherever Hobbs stacked up crossed the remainder of the NFL, and past slot him successful a presumption successful the draught that wasn’t overly assertive but besides protected the Raiders from different nine swooping successful and stealing him.

The Raiders selected Hobbs successful the 5th round, with the 167th pick. He was mostly regarded by draught sites arsenic a sixth- oregon seventh-round prospect.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore astatine vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore connected Twitter.