In the last two weeks, the Raiders hired one of the most accomplished coaches in NFL history and paired him up with one of the most respected offensive coordinators in the sport.
But now they need to find a quarterback and that could prove to be more challenging than the coaching and personnel hires the team has made to this point in the offseason.
From the outside, there doesn’t appear to be a clear path to a top quarterback in the draft, and it doesn’t look like the free agent class at quarterback is going to be particularly exciting.
But listening to Yahoo and FOX Sports host Jason Fitz on Tuesday, he believes the Raiders have a direction they want to go at quarterback.
In his weekly segment on Raider Nation Radio’s Morning Tailgate, Fitz said he does’t think Chip Kelly would have signed up to be the Raiders’ offensive coordinator if the organization didn’t sell him on a plan at quarterback.
“I don’t think there is a chance in Hades, to say it politely, that Chip Kelly took this job without some indication somewhere of what the quarterback plan was going to be. It’s $6 million, according to reports, but that ain’t going to get you to take a job if it’s going to suck.
I genuinely believe that from the minute that Chip Kelly started these conversations… Come on, he’s just too smart. Do we think Chip Kelly is stupid? Do we think Pete Carroll is stupid? And do we think the Raiders are stupid? My answer on all of those is ‘No.’
So now I’m gonna sit down and say, the first conversation is ‘Guys, what are we doing at quarterback?’ Right? Chip taking that job, he’s not going to mortgage how he pays his bills and move his family for a terrible situation. They have to have a plan...
I don’t know who that guy is today, but I think it’s hard to believe that Chip Kelly took this job without some indication of what the organization is going to do. Either they love one of the other quarterbacks, they have a path that they believe is going to get them to one of the top two [quarterbacks], or they know what they’re doing at free agency.
I do not believe that Aiden O’Connell and Gardner Minshew, no offense to either quarterback, is the reason that Chip Kelly took this job. There has to be a plan and I’m confident, I’m confident from the people I’ve talked to around the league, that they are capable of developing a young quarterback, so I am more confident than ever that the Raiders have a plan of what they’re going to do to find a young quarterback.”
One name to watch with Kelly is going to be former Ohio State quarterback Will Howard.
Howard is coming away from a college National Championship with Kelly and the 23-year-old fits the character mold that many believe the Raiders will be looking for in a developmental quarterback. It won’t hurt that Howard already has a relationship with Kelly and understands his scheme and verbiage.
When the draft rolls around, Howard might have just enough career upside to sell the Raiders on making an aggressive move for him.
The first round might be too early to draft Howard, but the Raiders’ second-round pick (no. 37 overall) might be a reasonable spot to take chance on him.
For what it’s worth, the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vinny Bonsignore thinks there’s a chance Shedeur Sanders could fall the no. 6 pick the Raiders hold in the first round… and that presents an interesting dilemma.
What would be the better value?
Sanders in the first round or Howard in the second or third round?
Sanders has become one of the more polarizing players in the draft and some organizations might have reservations about Deion Sanders and how he could factor into his son’s career at the NFL level.
As for Howard, he has generally been projected to be a mid-round pick, but his draft stock is only going to rise between now and the end of April.
“He’s right on the borderline of a top-50 pick for me at this point in time,” NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said about Howard on the Pat McAfee Show last month.
Jeremiah acknowledged he had not studied a lot of film on Howard but added that there is a lot to like about his physical traits.
“He’s much higher than that,” Jeremiah said of the notion Howard might be drafted in the fourth round or later. “He’s a day two guy for me as we sit right now.”
x: @raidersbeat
I strongly disagree with Fitz. When you’re past sixty and at the backside of your professional career and someone offers you 6 million annually, for probably 3 years, at least 2 years, you say YES. Just like “Lakers, are you interested in acquiring Luka Doncic?” “YES”. Chip Kelly has confidence in himself and he has never made this kind of money, You don’t go home and tell your family, “well there’s only 32 starting quarterback jobs in the NFL, I’m not going to coach just anyone.” That being said, Kelly knows there are at least six guys available right now the Raiders have access to that will be an upgrade from what Luke Getsy put on the field. In fact he could play with Getsy’s cast and improve the show. I mean Turner did it on the fly last year.
There isn’t any QB in this draft that will be remotely close to what O’Connell will be next season.
Facts.
I agree wholeheartedly with your Intel. I’m a firm believer that this new regime supports AOC with a solid strong offensive line to go along with the offensive weapons he already has, (draft a receiver that can stretch the field) the end result would be you’ll be one of the teams contending within your division, for a playoff spot.
Your achilles heel moving forward is the offensive line. Look towards the draft as well as young linemen in free agency that can run and pass block effectively
There is no quarterback in this draft that is ready to start for the Raiders now in the upcoming season.
AOC is not good.
AOC is a little too slow, and unable to zing the long ball. He’s spot on up to about 35 yards or so.
Can an offense be designed around him? Probably, maybe he can get stronger as an interim starter, I like many things he does.
If the Raiders draft Howard, does Kelly think he’s worth a first rounder? I haven’t watched him, but Kelly obviously knows.
Lol, the Raiders aren’t stupid? Well, if they’re not, I don’t know what else they could do to fool us into thinking they are.
It’s been 20 years of awful decisions. Really, 30 years, aside from the 3 good years around the turn of the century.
AOC is the perfect development project for Chip, Pete and Tom. Bring in anyone who’s available and let them compete. AOC is AOK.
I don’t know Fitz but he must don’t know the Raiders. You might not think Kelly is stupid but like the last commenter said, money will get you to abandon all common sense. Yes the Raiders might not be stupid but they have done many stupid things. I really hope that they do have a plan at the QB position. Too many good QBs in this draft for us not to get one. The Senior Bowl had about 4 or 5 of them that I would take a chance on. Dillion Gabriel came out the gate gunning and it picked up after that with the rest of the QBs on both sides
I must disagree with one thing from this article and that is the averment that the Raiders are not stupid. That contradicts everything wrong the Raiders have done for the past 20 years. Mark Davis is the worst owner in nfl history. He has cost this franchise much more than he provided – not even close. So the fact is the Raiders are stupid n continue to get things wrong n recent moves may prove to be dtupid as well. I like Carroll but fact is he is the oldest coach in history n has not won in quite some time. Hopefully, Brady n company have a plan for succession.