Adam Schefter is considered by many to be the most connected insider in the league, and the ESPN insider has offered a handful of draft opinions in recent days that could affect the Raiders.
After the Geno Smith extension was announced, Schefter said earlier this month that he was almost certain the Raiders would not be taking a quarterback in the first round of this year’s draft.
”I think this almost clinches the fact that the Las Vegas Raiders will bypass a quarterback in the first round,” Schefter said on ESPN’s NFL Live. ”Maybe they’ll revisit it… later on, but it’s hard to imagine that they’ll give Geno Smith $75 million today and then turn around three weeks later and draft a quarterback in the first round. I don’t think they are taking a page from the Falcons’ playbook.”
But if Shedeur Sanders is on the board when the Raiders are on the clock with the sixth pick, there are some who believe the Raiders would think hard about taking him.
Schefter was a guest on Maxx Crosby’s podcast on Tuesday and he talked about Sanders, who he had previously said was likely to slide to the sixth pick (and beyond). This time, though, Schefter said opinion has shifted.
Here are some of the highlights from Schefter’s hour-long visit with The Condor.
Shedeur could go to the Giants, Jaguars head coach and GM torn on the fifth pick
“Shedeur to the Giants at [pick] 3 would change everything, “Schefter said on The Rush podcast. “I was of the mind that they weren’t going to do it, but this workout in Boulder on Thursday now has me thinking… are they going to do it? I don’t think that’s a smokescreen, the question is are they going to go ahead and do it?”
“I thought I had it figured out,” Schefter continued. “We’re going to get Cam Ward 1, Travis Hunter 2, Abdul Carter 3, and then the Patriots in that case I think would be Will Campbell, the Tennessee tackle. The Jacksonville Jaguars would be up next. It depends, is the GM going to get his way and get a defensive lineman? Is the head coach going to get his way and get a target for Trevor Lawrence. Don’t know how that goes.”
“What’s so great about the draft is it’s the moment of truth. We can guess and speculate all we want, but the teams have to put their cards on the table that night and you get to see… It’s great. I don’t think anybody has got all the answers, including the teams themselves. You’re just gathering as much information as you can, try to present the most informed opinions you can, but it is hard to predict because one move can skew everything. If all of a sudden the Giants went Shedeur, it changes the whole draft.”
A versatile offensive lineman could go to the Raiders with the no. 6 pick
“I know a lot of people think the Raiders are going to take a running back in round one, and they might, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they wound up going with a guy like [Armand] Membou, the offensive tackle, instead, over a running back,” Schefter said.
“I don’t know if anybody is going to trade up for any of these quarterbacks. I still think when all is said and done, we might only get two quarterbacks in the first round,” Schefter said. “That doesn’t mean I’m right, but I think it’s going to be fewer rather than more in this draft for quarterbacks… I think what’s more likely to happen , my guess would be that we see a run on some these [quarterbacks] on day 2.”
“The first night I think we get two quarterbacks. I think we get Cam Ward going one and Shedeur [Sanders], wherever he’s going to go, as high as number 3, maybe 9, maybe 21. We’ll see.”
Tetairoa McMillan might not be the first wide receiver off the board
“If I was going to make a draft prediction to you, my bold draft prediction to you today… I’m going to predict that after Travis Hunter… I’m going to predict that Matthew Golden is the first wide receiver taken ahead of Tetairoa McMillan, ahead of Luther Burden, ahead of Emeka Egbuka and some of these guys. A lot of people would not have called for Matthew Golden to be the first wide receiver picked in this draft, but I won’t be surprised if it happens that way.”
Raiders could lose a second-round linebacker target in the first round
“You know who I think is going to go higher than people think? Carson Schwesinger. The linebacker from UCLA. I’ll bet you he’s a [first round pick]. I had one team talking to me about him and they were raving about this guy.”
x: @raidersbeat
If Saunders is there, they need to draft him. They need to get a qb for the very soon future.
The Raiders are stupid. Always have been. But this time, for the love of God, don’t be stupid this time. They can’t afford to if they want to ever just get a friggin wild card in the AFC West. Geno Smith does not have a long term contract!! They only owe him $18 million after this season. DRAFT SHEDEUR SANDERS YOU IDIOTS!!!!! Or not. Keep being an AFC West doormat 🤦🏾♂️
Calm.down and fart already
Sanders is wildly overrated. If his dad wasn’t Prime, nobody would by talking about his ***.
No to both Sanders and Jeanty at 6.
Draft Mike Green.
Trade down no matter what. More picks are needed for the rebuild that truly needs to happen. The roster is not good. Bowers and Crosby. The rest are replaceable. Are there some OK pieces, of course. Not every player is going to be the best. We need to be a power running team with play action. We aren’t a pass first team. It would be a huge mistake to think we are.