Will the Raiders take a quarterback in the first round of the draft?
The signing of Gardner Minshew won’t keep the Raiders from taking a quarterback early in the draft, but there’s a good chance that one of the top quarterbacks won’t be on the board for the Raiders at pick 13.
There have been rumors that Antonio Pierce would be happy to move forward with Aidan O’Connell at quarterback, but he also said he doesn’t want a temporary solution at the position.
With O’Connell and Minshew now in the mix, the Raiders might not have a sense of desperation at the quarterback position. If that happens to be the case, Pierce and GM Tom Telesco might be in a position to address other needs with their first pick.
Sports Illustrated‘s Hondo Carpenter talked about that dynamic this week and his early projection is that the Raiders won’t take a quarterback with the 13th pick.
“I think offensive line or defense is where they go at [pick] 13, but I know they would like to trade back,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast.
It seems like a foregone conclusion that four quarterbacks are going to be drafted ahead of the Raiders and even though they have looked into the idea of trading up, the popular consensus seems to be that the Bears, Commanders and Patriots have minimal interest in trading away the rights to one of the top quarterbacks in the draft.
If four quarterbacks are drafted ahead of the Raiders at pick 13, there is a good chance that one of the top cornerbacks or offensive linemen will be available when the Raiders are on the clock.
Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold or an offensive tackle to replace Jermaine Eluemunor would make a lot of sense for the Raiders in that scenario.
After that, Michael Penix Jr. or Spencer Rattler are quarterback prospects that have enough upside to be very good value picks for the Raiders in round two… or by way of a trade back into the latter picks of the first round.
twitter: @raidersbeat
Nice comment re qbs. 13th should be an offensive lineman!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe the next pick thereafter also. Our qbs are good enough IF THEY ARE PROTECTED AND WE HAVE A GREAT PLAY CALLER. After we get one or two ols, then we can worry about the defense.
P.S. We also need an excellent runner or two to take the heat off the qbs.
Hmmm, some very good points. I do believe the Raiders will go with O’Connell and Minshew. I do believe there is no sense acquiring a $100M dollar quarterback if you don’t have a solid team behind him. Build the team first and the quarterback will come. Until then you might find out he’s all ready onboard. 🙂
If there’s not great defense of player they got eyes on trade that pick to Chicago for Fields.
The problem with not drafting a talented QB early & building a playoff caliper team. Is that next year you going to be selecting late in the first round which means our options at QB within be limited as well. With this year being so deep at the O-line position. You could find a good starting caliper OT in the 2nd round, G in the 3rd or 4th round. The same might not be the case for a QB