Headlines around the Raiders for the better part of the last two weeks have revolved around Matthew Stafford, but last week was Combine week in Indianapolis and there were a few stories to might have been swept under the rug with everything going on around Stafford.
So let’s look at a few quotes and comments around the draft… some of which might have an impact on the Raiders with the no. 6 pick.
Right out of the gate, let’s hit on the most polarizing player in the draft.
Draft grades range from 1st round to 3rd round on Shedeur Sanders.
From Yahoo and FOX Sports host Jason Fitz, appearing on Raider Nation Radio’s Morning Tailgate…
“I’ve talked to insiders, they’ve talked to teams, I’ve talked to a couple of scouts that I think are pretty smart. I’ve heard that there are grades as high as early first on Shedeur and grades as low as third round on Shedeur, depending on the team.”
The Titans don’t want Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders.
More from Fitz on the Morning Tailgate…
“I’ve got pretty good relationships with the Titans all over the place,” Fitz said.
“The Titans don’t want to take either of these quarterbacks from everything anybody can discern. So the Titans in a beautiful world would love to trade down to four or three if they can because what they want to do is stay in range for Abdul Carter from what I’ve been told…”
Will Howard had a rough combine throwing the ball. There might be a good explanation to why.
Via Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast…
“Will Howard did not have a good throwing combine. That is no secret… That’s why I dropped him from the Raiders first pick to the second third round pick, but here’s the deal. He had a very well-respected quarterback coach in Jeff Christensen.
This is the guy that worked with Patrick Mahomes, worked with Quinn Ewers, who crushed it. A lot of people believe Quinn Ewers may have pushed himself into the first round,” Hondo continued.
“Now, he gets advice, Will Howard does, to train for the combine and go get a different quarterback coach, even though he’s got a good one, a great one, a well-respected one. A lot of people thought that was a bad move on his part and that years of tape doesn’t lie to compare to a bad showing. They expect him to shine out at his pro day and to be fine.”
Shedeur Sanders deserves a break after a difficult week.
Shedeur Sanders has taken a Iot of criticism in the last week.
Even if his interviews with team weren’t great, it’s important to remember he’s only 23 years old. He still has a lot to figure out about life, much less football.
Some of his public interviews haven’t been great. This one with Mike Florio and Chris Simms was very good…
On a related note, it’s no wonder people like Cam Ward so much.
Listen to this conversation with Simms.
Ashton Jeanty not the top running back in this year’s class?
According to Carpenter, there are a lot of teams who don’t have Jeanty as the no. 1 running back in the draft.
“Coming into this… [Jeanty] was considered the number one back. Omarion Hampton was number two,” Hondo said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast.
“I can now tell you that the bulk of the people I spoke to, and I did not speak with people from all 32 teams, but I spoke to high double digits, there were more who like Omarion Hampton.”
That’s something to keep an eye on as a lot of mock drafts have the Raiders taking Jeanty with the no. 6 pick.
x: @raidersbeat