Mike Mayock’s future in broadcasting, the WNBA boosts its national footprint, and more – `

There are myriad NFL draft experts, but there was a time not too long ago when one person had earned the top rank among NFL personnel and viewers as the most respected voice in the field. That was a testament to the person’s preparation, his deep analysis of the draft philosophy of teams and his ability to break down player film in a manner viewers could understand. This was particularly apparent on the final day of the draft coverage, because on that day you can’t fake it as an analyst. You either know the deep prospect pool or you don’t.

That person eventually left sports television to become the general manager of the Raiders in 2018. After seasons of 7-9, 8-8 and 10-8, respectively, he was fired last month.

By now you know the name: Mike Mayock. Though you have probably read about a lot of NFL broadcasting names over the past couple of weeks, due to the reverberations of Troy Aikman’s soon-to-be-announced deal with ESPN for $18.5 million annually, Mayock is not a name that’s been out there as part of the broadcasting carousel.

Does Mayock want back into broadcasting? Sources tell ` that Mayock’s reps have had exploratory talks with a couple of places, including Amazon and the NFL Network. The key word there is “exploratory.” Broadcast agents have dialogues with media outlets year-round; that’s simply due diligence. To be clear: There is nothing imminent here as far as Mayock signing on somewhere.

One of the reasons I thought about Mayock this week is because of the coverage of the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.