The Raiders are one of several teams expected to take a quarterback early in the draft, but how aggressive with they be with the 13th-overall pick?
It is highly unlikely that one of the consensus top four quarterbacks will be available to the Raiders at pick 13, and there have been rumors since the season ended that owner Mark Davis is willing to do whatever it takes to find a franchise quarterback before next season.
One of the theories to why GM Tom Telesco was hired by the Raiders was his willingness to make an aggressive move for a quarterback, and an ESPN report this week seemed to confirm that line of thinking.
“Sources say Raiders owner Mark Davis has given his blessing for Telesco and Pierce to make a move, any move… so long as it makes sense. Read into that what you will,” ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez reported on Wednesday.
It was an interesting report from Gutierrez, but the mention of “as long as it makes sense” leaves a lot of room for interpretation. What makes sense to Davis might not make sense to Telesco or Antonio Pierce, so there is still plenty of mystery to how aggressive the Raiders will be in their search for a quarterback.
Looking back, it was Pierce’s ability to turn the season around that probably cost the Raiders a chance to draft one of the consensus top quarterbacks in the draft. The Athletic‘s Vic Tafur talked about that dynamic and he believes the Raiders should have made a decision on Pierce’s job sooner and doubled down on the draft.
“… [Mark Davis] should have listened when I wrote that at 5-8, the Raiders should do something outside the box and decide on Pierce right then and rest an injured Maxx Crosby and others,” Tafur wrote in March. “My guy Crosby called the idea “bulls—” — as he should — but the Raiders would be sitting with the fifth pick and it would be so much easier to move up and get a franchise quarterback than it is from No. 13.”
There were others calling for the Raiders to make a decision on Pierce sooner, but league rules complicated the process of hiring Pierce before the end of the season. It’s possible that Davis could have made up his mind on Pierce sooner (Davis and others have implied that Pierce was always the owner’s first choice), but the league wants the interview process to play out in a particular way and it seems that the Raiders weren’t willing to do anything “outside the box” at the time.
twitter: @raidersbeat
It makes no sense to me to get a franchise QB with a need to solidify the O-line to protect him.
Draft a rt tackle and CB first. Then add depth to positions of need.
With the team set, next year you can give up whatever draft picks necessary to get the QB.