Raiders Director of College Scouting Brandon Yeargan breaks the silence on mystery surrounding Day 3 pick

https://www.instagram.com/p/DI7MPuuvAbE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==Then there is Tommy Mellott, the quarterback from Montana State, the FCS team, who played in the National Championship last year, losing by three points to North Dakota State. Mellott is an elite athlete and a really good quarterback. But, as soon as he was drafted, there were questions about whether this was a Julian Edelman-type of thing.

The former New England Patriots wide receiver, and teammate of Tom Brady, the minority owner of the Raiders, was a quarterback in college. He was moved to WR in the NFL, and ended up becoming one of the best slots we have seen in NFL history, and may end up being a Hall of Famer for all we know.

Now, it's obvious that's what the Raiders have in mind.

"Yeah, I wouldn't pigeonhole him right now," Raiders Director of College Scouting Brandon Yeargan told reporters when asked what position Mellott would play in 2025. "I would say we view him as a receiver that's going to have a lot of value in the kicking game, potentially as a returner, as a cover player, maybe play some quarterback, too. We're looking really as an athlete/receiver, but he's a unique guy.

"I mean, his testing numbers were through the roof, 4.41 40, really high vertical jump. His testing was outstanding. Yeah, he threw routes, and then he also ran routes too at Pro Day. So, I don't want to pigeonhole him necessarily, but we think he could do a variety of things."

To me, this is a Julian Edelman type of thing, or even a smaller version of what the New Orleans Saints do with Taysom Hill, who sometimes plays quarterback, tight end, running back, fullback, and even makes tackles on special teams. It feels like that's a similar direction that Mellott could be heading in.

His 4.39 speed is elite, and Mellott's RAS score, or Relative Athletic Score when graded as a WR, is one of the best of all time, ranking 124 out of 3816 WR from 1987 to 2025. The Raiders like what they see when they put him at that position. And, you may be thinking, does he even have the skillset to play that position? You can watch him with the ball in his hands and see that he knows what to do with it after he gets it, whether it's being handed off to him or thrown to him.

And he has a jiggle and wiggle when running the ball that makes defenders miss, and would make you think he could develop some great footwork when it comes to route running. I'm going to trust the Raiders on this one, and if it hits, this could be huge.