Former Patriots national scout DuJuan Daniels to join Raiders as a senior executive

In a 2019 offseason filled with personnel turnover for the New England Patriots, the departure of national scout DuJuan Daniels did not get the same attention as those of Rob Gronkowski, Trey Flowers, Trent Brown, six assistant coaches, or character coach Jack Easterby. However, Daniels’ importance to the club cannot be understated as he has been a key member of New England’s scouting department for the last 13 years

Two weeks ago, it was reported that Daniels would leave the Patriots to pursue opportunities outside of the organization that brought him on board as a scouting assistant in 2006. It looks as if he has now found such an opportunity: according to a report by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Daniels will join the Oakland Raiders in a senior executive position — one he apparently felt he would not have gotten in New England.

Seeing Daniels depart the team with which he had won three Super Bowls to subsequently join the Raiders should therefore not be seen as too big a surprise considering the decision’s context: his career advancement with the Patriots was likely limited due to director of college scouting Monti Ossenfort and further up director of player personnel Nick Caserio not going anywhere anytime soon.

Of course, New England will have to fill Daniels’ former role. With the team having six area scouts on its staff in 2018, it appears likely that one of those men will get elevated to national scout. The most realistic candidates at this point in time appear to be Matt Groh, Jonathan Howard, and Brandon Yeargan, who all have multiple years of experience under their respective belts.