Jahmyr Gibbs, Terrion Arnold, Sam LaPorta, Brian Branch, Aidan Hutchinson, Jameson Williams, Kerby Joseph, Penei Sewell, Alim McNeill and Amon-Ra St. Brown. That’s just a sampling of the talent the Lions drafted from 2021-23 while Lance Newmark helped to lead Detroit’s college scouting. All that success could soon pay off for Newmark — and the Raiders.
Washington’s assistant general manager, Newmark reportedly is interviewing for the Raiders’ general manager vacancy on Sunday. The development is intriguing for two reasons.
First, after leaving Detroit for Washington and in just one season under Adam Peters, Newmark has helped assemble a Washington roster led by No. 2-overall selection Jayden Daniels that advanced to the NFC Championship Game. Only five teams since the league-merger have done that after finishing the prior season with one of the NFL’s two worst records. The Commanders also drafted cornerback Mike Sainristil, who recorded two interceptions in Saturday night’s win at Detroit.
Second, Newmark worked closely in Detroit with both offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. Should the Raiders hire one of those coordinators as head coach and pair him with Newmark, Las Vegas would seem to have a leg up on the other franchises searching for head coaches that retained their general managers.
What’s more, hiring Newmark and Johnson could give the Raiders the desire to pursue quarterback Hendon Hooker in a trade. Before Newmark became the Commanders’ assistant GM, the Lions took Hooker in the third round of the 2023 draft. Hooker has spent the first two years of his NFL career in a talented quarterback room with Johnson, Jared Goff and creative assistant quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett, who could join Johnson in Las Vegas.
Hooker, the 2022 SEC Offensive Player of the Year at Tennessee, showed flashes in limited action with the Lions this season in relief of Goff.
Las Vegas has an additional third-round selection in the upcoming draft, acquired from the Jets in the Davante Adams trade, and could offer that capital as compensation in a trade for Hooker. The Raiders also could pursue a free agent starter such as Sam Darnold and pair him with a drafted rookie. In his latest mock draft, Dane Brugler this past week predicted Shedeur Sanders would fall to the Raiders at No. 6.
Newmark also interviewed for the Jets’ GM vacancy on Jan. 11.
For more information on the Raiders and Lions, or the NFL hiring cycle, visit the Las Vegas and Detroit team pages and Coach/GM Carousel page at ProFootballPost.com.
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