John Spytek, the Raiders’ GM, isn’t shy about leaning on Tom Brady for advice. After all, as he put it, he’d have to be a “special kind of idiot” not to. The two go way back to their Michigan days, where Spytek was a freshman when Brady was a sophomore. They even shared the field as Wolverines. And now, decades later, Brady and John are teaming up again to take the Raiders to new heights. Brady, who owns a minority stake in the team, isn’t just a silent partner, he’s actively involved. And Spytek isn’t wasting that resource.

The Raiders’ offseason started with bringing in new HC Pete Carroll. Brady’s fingerprints were all over that decision. On March 13, the Raiders reunited their HC with his QB Geno Smith via a trade with the Seattle Seahawks. But the team is not only focusing on strengthening the player squad this offseason. Brady and Spytek are making sure that the coaching staff stands out, too. And for that, the team has hired a member for HC Pete Carroll. On Saturday, the team added Ryan Paganetti to their coaching squad. “The Raiders hired Ryan Paganetti to the coaching staff as Head Coach Research Specialist. His role will include game management,” reported ESPN writer Seth Walder.

Paganetti is all excited to start his new journey with the Raiders under HC Pete Carroll. “Incredibly grateful for this opportunity! #RaiderNation,” he penned down on X, expressing his excitement. He was recently working with Shad Khan’s Jaguars as the Director of Football Analytics. Growing up, Ryan was a Pats and Bill Belichick fan, and he also played as an RB during his college days. Ryan will be reuniting with OC Chip Kelly, whom he worked with in 2015, which was Kelly’s last season as the HC of Philly. He served as an analyst and game management coach with the squad from 2015 to 2020. Let’s spill out a word or two about that tenure, which will tell you that this recruit might be a game changer, literally!  

After Kelly’s time with the Eagles ended, Doug Pederson was hired as its new HC. Paganetti was not only retained, but he became one of the top voices in the coach’s decision-making, something that became crucial in the squad’s Super Bowl LII victory in the 2017 season. Yes, you read that right- this man was of that importance to the franchise. Guess how?

Back then, analyzing and utilizing data in game planning was somewhat of an alien concept. Not to the Eagles, thanks to Paganetti. The Dartmouth graduate used to study data and analyze them to better understand what can or, can not work during a game. That also included identifying any potential advantage the team might get by any particular move. “Using things like win probability and expected points added to understand the magnitude of plays,” in Paganetti’s words.

Interestingly, this meshed perfectly with the aggressive and analytical mindset of Pederson as armed with the data, the Eagles started becoming more aggressive in fourth-down situations and two-point conversions. For context, throughout Pederson’s tenure, the Eagles were either first or second in the league in fourth-down attempts and were the top team in two-point conversion attempts in 2017. However, ask Paganetti, and he will tell you that the most crucial game to establish the importance of his work was the Eagles’ week 2 game against the Chiefs in the 2017 season.

Eagles were down two TDs and had scored late in the game to bring down the lead to eight. Paganetti, at this point, asked Pederson to attempt a two-point conversion rather than kicking the extra point because his data showed that it made more sense. “I shared this information and I had several staff members, during the game, freaking out and borderline having a confrontation,” Paganetti had recalled in 2021. Pederson, to avoid backlash, took the conventional way and kicked the extra point. The Eagles eventually lost. And that was THE turning point.

After the game, the squad decided to go by Paganetti’s data. The outcome could not have been sweeter. The squad went on to win nine consecutive games after that loss, culminating in lifting the Lombardy Trophy after five months. “From that moment on, there was never another time that entire rest of the season where anyone questioned the information I was sharing with him,” Paganetti said. Surely, the Raiders landed a gem in him. And they are also looking to back that up with player hires as well.

John Spytek and Brady still looking for more RB power

In February, the Dolphins released RB Raheem Mostert from their squad. A month later, Mostert found a new home in Las Vegas as the Raiders inked a $2.1 million one-year deal with him. But here’s the thing with the former Dolphins RB, Raheem will soon be turning 33 in April. While it’s good to have a veteran on the squad, you know you can’t rely on them as a long-term option. Other than Mostert, the team has Zamir White, who is coming off an injury-plagued season. So clearly, Brady and John Spytek need to add more depth to the RB position.

So, it’s possible that the Raiders could look for an RB next month in the draft. But Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton is of the view that Spytek will look for a trade instead. The NFL analyst and columnist predicts that Las Vegas will try to land Seattle Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III. The Michigan State alum is reportedly on the trade block, which is no surprise as every franchise is rebuilding its roster. “Las Vegas has arguably the worst backfield. Raheem Mostert, who turns 33 in April, leads the unit,” writes Moton. If the trade goes through, analysts expect Kenneth Walker’s contract to be valued at around $41 million.

“Raiders head coach Pete Carroll can call his former team and inquire about Kenneth Walker III. Seattle may be willing to move on from the 24-year-old because of his declining production and recent injuries. He’s seen a drop-off in his rushing numbers since his 2022 rookie season,” added Moe. Kenneth, too, is coming off an injury-haunted season. The 24-year-old was dealing with injuries throughout the 2024 season. Walker managed to rack up only 573 rushing yards, with 7 rushing TDs and one receiving TD. In December, following an ankle injury, Kenneth was sidelined for the rest of the season.

But during his first two years, he showed promise. Walker racked up over 1,000 rushing yards and nine TDs in his rookie year. During his second season, the RB had 905 rushing yards and eight TDs. With the Raiders, he will have a fresh start under Pete Carroll’s mentorship. For now, it’s all coming together on paper for Las Vegas. It will be interesting to see how it translates on the field.