Pickleball, cornhole, Jenga and 41 holes of golf.

That's how General Manager John Spytek unwound following the conclusion of his first draft with the Raiders.

After having a few days to reflect on the three-day event, he sat down with Raiders.com's Eddie Paskal to discuss the team's draft strategy and the 11 new members of the Silver and Black.

The Raiders made a splash in the first round by selecting Ashton Jeanty, making him the highest-drafted running back since Saquon Barkley (2018).

As fans waited anxiously to see who would join Jeanty in the Silver and Black, Spytek and his staff were working the phones to acquire more draft capital.

"You never know quite how the draft's going to go," he said. "How many of these guys are going to really push the starters that are here, the position groups that are here, I don't know. Sometimes you get a third-round pick and you think he's going to be the one, then it turns out it's the seventh-round pick that does it.

"But that's why those Day 2 trades, I think, were important for us. There were players on the board that we liked there at 37 and a little bit further down, and we felt like it was a great opportunity to get a few more premium picks and load up a bunch of different position groups with as much competition as possible."

The Raiders ended up using five of their first six draft picks on offensive players, but Spytek says there wasn't an overarching plan behind that approach.

"It was really the way the board fell," he said. "We had good defensive players sprinkled in throughout there too. When we were up to pick, the way we stacked the board and the way we pull names off the board, the best names were just the ones at the top and they ended up being offensive players more often than not. I've never been anywhere where I regretted having good football players on the roster, wherever you feel like they start or however they get to where they're at. You just like having good football players."

Iowa State cornerback Darien Porter, the lone defensive player taken in those top six picks, also began his career as an offensive player but is now hoping to make a living as an NFL cornerback.

"Guys like him are cool because that to me, I think shows the connection between the scouting staff and the coaching staff," Spytek said. "It's very easy to recognize that Darien Porter is an elite level athlete. From the testing numbers, the 4.31, to the vertical, which I think was around 40, to the shuttle times, which were elite. His size at almost 6'3, there's so much elite physical ability in his body, but he's not a full-time starter. He's making a transition. ... When you have Coach Carroll and Joe Woods and 'PG' (Patrick Graham) and all of them say, 'We would love to work with this guy. This is who we're looking for.' As a scout, that really is empowering because it's like, OK, we can bring players like him to the staff and they're going to work with them and they can have a vision for them.

"Hopefully the coaches realize too that we'll be able to bring them players like that in the future that maybe aren't finished products or it's not a crystal clear vision for them. But through some communication between the two staffs, we can have a shared vision for what they can be for our team. And then you end up with an elite level athlete that's a great kid that fits in perfectly to Coach Carroll and PG's scheme."

Spytek also shared his thoughts on Ole Miss defensive tackle JJ Pegues, another Raiders draftee that began his collegiate career on offense (tight end) before finding his primary home on the defensive side of the ball.

"He's a great kid," Spytek said. "We brought him in here on a top 30 visit. He was part of our Top Golf night and just a fun good-natured person that loves to play football."

Holding those visits helped the Raiders determine which prospects would fit well in the organization, not just on the grass.

"It provides a great feel for how these kids will act and move in your building," he said. "A lot of times they let their guards down around support staff and treat people a certain way. We've put a premium on bringing the right people in. So, it's become less about, 'Oh, was he kind of a pain in the ass or did he disrespect people?' It's more been like, 'Gosh, that person was amazing. God, he was fun to be around. Man, he treated people the right way. He just loved the energy and the spirit of being here.' And we kind of let these kids elevate themselves a little bit. It doesn't take too long after you've been doing this as many years as I have, even if it's only a half-an-hour in face time."

With the offseason program already underway and rookie minicamp beginning next week, Spytek is excited to see the newest Raiders take the field for the first time. He also knows, it's just the start of the roster-building process.

"We're never going to be satisfied with where the roster's at," he said. "Things change too fast and you've got to stay on it. You got to be dynamic. Otherwise, you'll fall behind really quick. But I think when Coach and I got this job three, four months ago, we set out to try to answer the quarterback question. We tried to answer some of the offensive skill, add more explosive playmakers on that side of the ball, solidify the lines, add some depth to the secondary. You know, we've done all those things. We've got to come together as a team now and it'll all be out there in front of us. It'll be what we prove every Sunday when we get the chance to play.

"I like the quality of man that we've added to this roster. I like the competition that you can feel when you're out in the field. I expect these 26 men - the 11 drafted and the 15 undrafted free agents - to come in and fit in well and compete and push this roster forward."