They encircled the perimeter of the cramped 30 by 40-foot press work room at Raiders HQ Thursday morning.

There was General Manager John Spytek, who seemingly took off his Silver and Black chef hat and smock (go ahead, call him Guy Fieri because Spytek was absolutely cooking in the early waves of free agency), and had his personnel staff with him.

And new coach Klint Kubiak and his entire coaching staff were also in the room where it happened, as was team president Sandra Douglass Morgan.

Indeed, the high-powered welcoming party was there to greet a Raiders quad squad of free-agent signees - receiver Jalen Nailor, center Tyler Linderbaum, defensive end Kwity Paye and linebacker Quay Walker - for an introductory media conference.

"Awesome, [it] already feels like home," Linderbaum said. "Everyone's been welcoming. State-of-the-art facility, unbelievable. The people here are the right people to kind of turn this thing around."

After a league-worst 3-14 season, which landed the Raiders the No. 1 overall draft pick, the atmosphere also provided a peek into the fresh-start philosophy of the Raiders' new regime. Because it also inked linebacker Nakobe Dean and kicker Matt Gay, re-signed cornerback Eric Stokes and edge rusher Malcolm Koonce, and acquired cornerback Taron Johnson in a trade with the Bills in those first days of the new league year.

Plus, the Raiders traded quarterback Geno Smith to the Jets and reportedly tendered defensive tackle Thomas Booker, offensive lineman Jordan Meredith, center Will Putnam, defensive end Charles Snowden and safety Tristin McCollum.

Another trend?

Peep the ages of the guys the Raiders are bringing in.

Dean, Linderbaum and Walker are all 25; Paye and Nailor are 27. Johnson is 29 and only Gay is on the other side of 30.

It's one thing to bring in young guys. It's another to bring in young guys who already know how to win.

Dean, Johnson, Linderbaum, Nailor and Walker have appeared in a combined 31 playoff games with Dean boasting a Super Bowl ring. Paye, meanwhile, has 30.5 career sacks.

Oh yeah, Stokes and Koonce are both 27, and Stokes has also appeared in a pair of playoff games with the Packers. The Raiders have appeared in the playoffs twice since the start of the 2003 season, going 0-2 in the postseason.

To paraphrase The Rock: Can you smell what Spytek is cooking?

And have you heard what new defensive coordinator Rob Leonard - yes, the Raiders former defensive line coach - is installing?

So how will the fast-moving and hard-hitting Walker fit as an inside linebacker next to Dean, a former college teammate at Georgia, along with Stokes and tight end Brock Bowers, in that new 3-4 base scheme?

"I'm really excited to do that because I played with [Dean] before … so it's just another opportunity for us to go out there and to showcase our talent and just to bring a type of energy, intensity, to the defense and just add to it. Just bring a whole lot of grit that the other guys can feed up on and, hopefully, they can match our energy, which I know they would. I know Rob is going to use us in the right way and set us up for success.

"It's going to fit perfectly. … I'm not going to go into everything, but I know he's going to use me the right way, lining me up in different positions and just moving me all around so other teams can't really recognize what I'm going to do."

Then there's the possibility of Paye lining up opposite Crosby to wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks.

"It's going to be crazy, man," Paye said. "Just seeing him pursue and just his relentless pursuit throughout the down, just … to play with him and get after it. I played with [DT] Jonah [Laulu] in Indy for a little bit … playing with some ballers. It will be great."

Walker sees the potential Paye-Crosby connection benefiting him in pass coverage.

"The ball is probably going to come out fast, so it kind of helps us on the back end," Walker said. "Versus the run, as well, those are two guys that can do a lot."

For Nailor, the presser was a homecoming.

Known as "Speedy" in high school for his sprinting acumen at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nailor was a high school senior when ground was broken for construction on Allegiant Stadium.

He had no inkling he would ever call the corner of Al Davis Way and Dean Martin Drive home. But he sees himself fitting in perfectly with this new Raiders image.

"Just having that ability to play multiple positions in the offense, move around, motions and things like that, I feel like with Kubiak's offense, he does that very well with the guys, trying to get them the ball and move them around," Nailor said. "And I feel like that's going to play right into my skill set."

That's the goal for all of the Raiders newcomers. Otherwise, why have such a big, and inclusive, welcoming party?