Q&A with Rookie WR Chaz Schilens | From
Oakland Raiders
The Raiders drafted WR Chaz Schilens out of San Diego State in the 7th Round of the 2008 NFL Draft. As the Raiders opened their three-day rookie mini-camp at their Alameda, Calif., facility, Schilens had the opportunity to speak with the Bay Area media in the press room.
Q: When you were watching the draft and picks were running out, were you already starting to gear your mind towards the free agent route?
Rookie WR Chaz Schilens: Yeah, I was. I had written down the top teams I was interested in, and the Raiders were at the top of the list. So I’m glad it happened; I’m glad they picked me and it ended up this way. I think I would have been coming here either way to be honest with you.
Q: Why were the Raiders at the top of your list?
Schilens: Coach [James] Lofton, number one. When I came up here, I visited with him; he’s an honest man and tells it how it is. He’s a Hall of Famer. He’s a great coach, and I felt like he gave me the best chance to learn the most. And along with the receiver situation, I felt like there is an opportunity to compete and make the team.
Q: After looking at the playbook, do you feel like you can handle it or is your head swimming?
Schilens: We’re still going through that right now. The plays are different, so anything new is going to be a little difficult. But, for the most part, the plays are pretty simple. You can pick them up easily. Of course they’re going slow for us right now, but it just takes some time to learn them. We’ll get some stuff ironed out in the first practice and get it taken care of.
Q: What did you know about this offense from last year? Did you get to watch them at all?
Schilens: I knew that they threw the ball. I watched for that. I was watching when they played the Chargers. I knew that they were physical, and that’s pretty much all I knew about them. Coach Lofton, when I came up here, told me that we’re going to throw it downfield a little bit, so I’m looking forward to that. Other than that, just being physical, and that’s it.
Q: Do you like [going against] man coverage?
Schilens: I like man coverage and I like...yeah, deeper stuff would be what I feel that I’m more suited towards. You have to run a variety of routes in the NFL, so I’m going to have to work on everything.
Q: Had you gotten any calls about teams looking at you as a free agent before you were picked?
Schilens: Yeah, I had a few calls—quite a few calls.
Q: But did you hear from [the Raiders] at all?
Schilens: I think they called my agent. I know that they were interested, and I know that they had been talking to my agent over the last few days about possibly what could happen. The free agent teams—they weren’t really a factor.
Q: Were you still watching the draft on TV [when you were picked]? What were you doing at the time?
Schilens: I had a bunch of family over. After it got midway through the sixth round, I just went outside and played with my family, my little sister in the backyard. I didn’t really watch that much after the sixth round.
Q: Are you looking forward to playing with a guy like JaMarcus [Russell]?
Schilens: Yeah, when I came out here earlier, I got to see him conditioning. And I got to see him up close, and it seemed like the closer he got, the bigger he got. So I was quite surprised. I knew he was big, but I’ve heard his a great quarterback. I know he’s got a strong arm. I’ve heard great stuff about him, so I’m looking very forward to it.
Q: You had pretty solid stats at SDSU, but they don’t reall
Raiders | Chaz Schilens interview 
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