Leading up to the draft, everyone was expected to take a developmental quarterback, but there was a little surprise at the draft when they didn’t take one until the sixth round.
Many believed Chip Kelly’s connection to Will Howard would push the Raiders to take Howard with a mid-round pick, but they repeatedly passed on Howard and ultimately ended up with North Dakota State quarterback Cam Miller with pick no. 215.
In theory, an undersized sixth-round quarterback should be someone the Raiders would be able to sneak onto the practice squad, but Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter thinks it would be a risk to allow Miller to become available to 31 other teams.
According to Carpenter, one of the reasons Miller might be hard to keep is that there were other teams interested in him going into the draft and some have the perception that Miller was Tom Brady’s guy going into the draft.
“Most guys jumping from FCS at quarterback would get the opportunity to go on a practice squad, but there were so many people that liked him, including Raiders owner Tom Brady, that I think it may be hard if he shines in these preseason games to hide him on the practice squad,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast.
Brady has distanced himself from football decisions in Las Vegas since he was brought on board as a minority owner, but very few are buying that narrative and The Athletic’s Dianna Russini talked about that dynamic this week.
She believes Brady has been involved in just about every area of the organization and it would be naive to think the Raiders passed on Kelly’s championship-winning quarterback at Ohio State in favor of someone that Brady was/is indifferent about.
Going back to a story in June, The Athletic’s Mike Silver was the first to report that it was Brady who steered the Raiders away from Sam Darnold in the weeks leading up to free agency.
“Some believed the Las Vegas Raiders would try to sign Darnold, [but] minority owner Tom Brady — a seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback whose opinion held great sway — was not in favor of that approach, according to a source familiar with the franchise’s internal discussions,” Silver reported two months ago at The Athletic.
If Brady had a hand in evaluating the veteran quarterbacks, he was most definitely involved in scouting the college quarterbacks.
Time will tell if Miller has what it takes to be a starter in the NFL, but he obviously received Brady’s stamp of approval, which makes him one of the more intriguing quarterback prospects in this year’s draft.
Miller might not be a threat to start at quarterback anytime soon, but he’s going to be an interesting player to watch as he continues to develop behind Geno Smith.
x: @raidersbeat
One thing is for sure, Adian O’Connell is a lead footed quarterback who lacks mobility. I have advocated, all off-season, that the Raiders make a trade, with the New England Patriots, for battle tested, experienced, 31 year old, mobile Joshua Dobbs.
In my opinion, the Raiders NEED a viable option at the back up quarterback position and, based on his past performances and inconsistentcy, Adian O’Connell IS NOT a viable option.
Surely, some people are going to say, let’s see what O’Connell does in these preseason games before looking at additional options. Ok, let’s do that but I beseech the Raiders to be realistic because should an unforseen injury befall Geno Smith, and the Raiders want to win more than 3 or 4 games this season, unless he has made a quantum leap since last year, Adian O’Connell should be replaced.
I’ve been a Raiders fan since 1968 and desperately want to see this franchise return to prominence. I just hope that this iteration of Raiders management can get the job done.
Well said Bill, I am for obtaining Dobbs in a low round trade. I also agree that shipping off Aiden to a team in desperation of a #2 qb. Smith, Dobbs, Miller. I definitely would roll with 3 qb’s than 6 tight ends. We only need 3 and we have 3 good ones. Dump the rest they cannot compete with Bowers or Mayer.
Hey Hondo why don’t you tell us all the names of the teams that were interested in Miller? That way we could then see who would still want the weak armed, small QB? Or as usual Hondo is “reporting” exactly what a “insider” wants him to report. Hondo is a hack!!!