AFC Notes: Ashton Jeanty, Tom Brady, Raiders, Steelers, Titans

Raiders

The Raiders embark on their first season under HC Pete Carroll and GM John Spytek. Owner Mark Davis felt it was important to bring in a coach who understands football, similar to what he sought in Jon Gruden, while he’s confident Spytek will stick around “for a long, long time.” 

“It’s been fun. It’s been fantastic,” Davis said, via Vincent Bonsignore. “Again, I’ve grown up around football my whole life. And around people who understand football. I don’t want to go back into the whole (former coach) Jon Gruden thing, but again, Jon was somebody who understood football, and that’s where I tried to go. But it didn’t work. I haven’t gotten it right, and hopefully this time I will. I love Pete Carroll. I’ve watched him from afar for many, many years. John, I’ve just gotten to know. I think he’s a special person, somebody who can be here for a long, long time.”

Davis believes first-round RB Ashton Jeanty can be a “special player.”

 “I think he’s a wonderful young man. I really do. We’ll see how it goes, but I think he’s a special player.”

As for Carroll saying Las Vegas’ ownership addition of Tom Brady was a reason he signed with the organization, Davis said it took them “four years” to finalize things with Brady. 

“Absolutely. And that’s why the changes were made. And it was a battle to get it done. It took four years to actually get Tom into the building and bring in that expertise and that confidence that we’re talking about. I think it started there. And obviously, the other additions that were made, and then getting someone like Chip Kelly. And I said, OK, there’s some stability here, we’re building something. There is a vision, and Tom does have vision. I don’t think there’s anybody more competitive, that I know of, than Tom Brady.”

Steelers

The Steelers have traded six receivers during Mike Tomlin‘s 19 years as head coach, including George Pickens, Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, Martavis Bryant, Sammie Coates, and Antonio Brown. GM Omar Khan thinks character concerns with most of the receivers they’ve dealt are just a coincidence. 

“Some of that’s just really coincidence how it’s played out with the position. We’re always trying to get good players regardless of what position it’s at and at any point in the year,” Khan said.

Titans

Titans TE Gunnar Helm valued the opinion of veteran players during his time at Texas and says he will continue to rely on their advice as a professional to be an asset to the organization.

“I talked to a lot of NFL vets throughout this process, throughout the combine, post-combine, post-Pro Day about just what to expect,” said Helm, via the team website. “All of them kind of said the same thing: The biggest difference from college to the National Football League is not only the speed, but it’s really attention to detail. It’s all mental at this level, so just grasping the new playbook and figuring out the concepts. … The chemistry, the timing, all of it, just kind of falls back on that mental piece.”

“I kind of worked myself into a locker room guy, a culture guy,” Helm said of his time at Texas. “I like to pride myself in doing things the right way around the facility and off the field. … (Texas assistant) Mike Bimonte used to tell me every day to trust the process, and while it got hard at some points, some guys don’t develop overnight, and that always kind of lingered in the back of my mind – I had developed through high school, too. I didn’t even touch the varsity field until I was a junior, and that’s when I made the switch to tight end. So, it is not going to happen right away for everybody, it could be middle school, high school, college or the National Football League.”

Helm has noted he will study the veterans and ask questions, but will not question where the team lines him up, as he thinks his hands are an asset as both a blocker and a receiver.

“And, asking a bunch of them for help,” Helm noted. “Seeing how they did it, asking how they learned it. And obviously, just doing the exact same thing…It’s, however, Coach (Brian) Callahan wants to use me. I’ve always been super blessed to have great hands. It was like that in high school, and obviously when I got to college. I always had that trust in myself – I’ve been on the JUGS (machine) quite a bit, been on the JUGS since I’ve been here.”