The Raiders have found their veteran quarterback in Geno Smith, but are they still candidates to take a quarterback in the draft?
Every indication is that Tom Brady and GM John Spytek will still be looking to draft a quarterback in April and ESPN’s Tashan Reed reported over the weekend that it is still a possibility the Raiders could take a quarterback in the first round of the draft.
“After striking out in their effort to trade for Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford last week, minority owner Tom Brady, [Pete] Carroll, general manager John Spytek, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and quarterback coach Greg Olson held meetings at team headquarters in Henderson, Nev., to chart the path forward at quarterback,” Reed reported on Saturday.
“After those meetings, the Raiders came to a consensus that Smith was the best veteran quarterback available this offseason. Why was Las Vegas so set on acquiring a veteran quarterback? Coming out of the NFL Scouting Combine last week, several members of the Raiders’ offensive coaching staff preferred adding a proven veteran to taking a dice roll on a rookie quarterback, according to league sources.”
With Smith expected to sign a long-term deal before the start of the season, the Raiders don’t have to enter the draft with a sense of urgency at the quarterback position.
“The Raiders’ acquisition of Smith doesn’t eliminate the possibility of them taking a quarterback in the 2025 draft,” Reed said. “They’re still considering a quarterback as early as the first round, according to league sources.”
“After all, the Raiders knew they were aiming to add a veteran quarterback last week and still met with prospects at the combine, including Miami’s Cam Ward, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, Texas’ Quinn Ewers and Mississippi’s Jaxson Dart,” Reed continued. “According to league sources, the Raiders came away particularly impressed with Milroe and Ewers after going over X’s and O’s and film.”
While it’s always possible the Raiders could take a quarterback with the no. 6 pick in the draft, the first-round quarterback idea seems highly unlikely.
The Raiders would probably like teams to believe they are in the market for a quarterback in round 1, but the more likely scenario was one brought up by the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vinny Bonsignore.
Bonsignore believes the addition of Geno Smith raises the odds Ashton Jeanty will end up in Las Vegas.
There was a chance that might have happened even without a clear starting quarterback on the roster, but with Smith now in the building, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a head coach like Pete Carroll, who values the running back position, take the best running back in the draft next month.
If not Jeanty, keep an eye on North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton. He’s the no. 2 running back on many draft boards and Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter said last week that some teams have him rated as a higher prospect than Jeanty.
x: @raidersbeat
Dallas taxes up to take 6 and Jeanty. We get 12 and 44. Best OL at 12. Maybe Meno’s there? RB first second round pick BPA with the second.
Madness…. Unless you’re talking a prime McCaffrey, Derrick Henry, Saquon… Generational backs or those that are legitimate weapons in the passing game, it’s a waste of resources to take a back that high. Very few backs impact the game at that sort of level. The vast, vast majority are so dependent on the context around them. The offensive line, the quality of the passing game, the score in any given game.
All you have to do is look at the Raiders recent history. Josh Jacobs is one of the best backs in the league, but when the team and offensive line struggled in 2023, so did he. He goes to Green Bay, with a better situation around him, and he’s great again. Meanwhile, the Raiders run blocking was terrible for most of last year, and when it got better, a UDFA like Sincere McCormick looked awesome. Positional value matters, especially so early in the draft.
Josh Jacob’s? The guy who holds out? Gets paid more than he should and comes back fat and out of shape taking half the season to get in shape then whines about being a raider? You need to reevaluate values. It had nothing at all to do with the OL where Jacob’s is concerned.
We need as many picks as we can get. And there are several deep positions of talent in this draft.
I think Jeanty will shine, but if we don’t improve the O-line in FA, then we we have to improve in the draft. It doesn’t look like FA lineman are too impressive, or worth overspending on. Have to build the core take a RB later, it is supposed to be a deep position. Remember, Pierce and the numb nuts OC completely changed the running game during the off-season to zone-blocking, even though we didn’t have any lineman that fit the system. I’m not sure what the plan is this year with Chip, but I believe he’s smart enough to utilize his talent.
Bingo!
#6 Geanty case closed. Pick milroe in round 2. Add another receiver in round 3. Balance rounds pick and plug.O Line and Dline restructure some contracts to make more cap space
don’t waste a first-round pick on QB after bringing in Geno too many other options we need
Trevion Henderson in the 3rd round would be possible now that Chip is OC. Very good value pick. Jeanty has fumble issues, drafting him with the #6 pick is too early. Better to draft a WR1 or OT with the #6 pick. Jeanty later in 1rd would be ok, but the Bears or Boys will snag him with their 1st rd pick. A lot of hype around Jeanty.