The Rams tried to get the no. 6 pick from the Raiders for Matthew Stafford and now, based on reports around D.K. Metcalf, the Seahawks are trying to get a first-round pick for him.
If the Raiders weren’t willing to give up the no. 6 pick for Stafford, there’s no way they would give it up for Metcalf.
But is their first-round pick entirely untouchable?
Only Tom Brady and GM John Spytek know the answer to that, but there are two semi-realistic scenarios where it might make sense for the Raiders to trade the no. 6 pick.
A move up in the draft for Cam Ward
Ward seems to have distanced himself from Shedeur Sanders as a prospect and he might be the one quarterback in this year’s draft worth a top-5 pick.
It would be a heavy cost to move from the sixth pick to the first pick, but if Ward is the quarterback Brady and Spytek like, there would be justification to make the trade.
There have been rumors the Raiders have looked into trading up for Ward, but it’s hard to know what to do with draft narratives this time of year.
“The overall belief from people in the league is that the Las Vegas Raiders will be one of the teams actively attempting to trade up with the hopes of selecting quarterback Cam Ward,” NFL insider Tony Pauline reported last week. “The team needs a quarterback and wanted to move up for Jayden Daniels one year ago, though it was a completely different regime running the show in Las Vegas.”
A trade for J.J. McCarthy
Every indication is that the Vikings do not intend to trade McCarthy, but until the Sam Darnold situation is figured out, there is still a slim chance Minnesota would be willing to listen to offers for McCarthy.
What would the Vikings do if Darnold is willing to take a massive discount on a three-year deal to stay in Minnesota?
Based on the tepid interest teams seem to have in Darnold, it wouldn’t be the worst move on his part to see if he can get a long-term deal with the Vikings at a lesser cost.
It’s unlikely, but if the Vikings entertain offers for McCarthy, the Raiders would presumably be willing to include the no. 6 pick in a deal for McCarthy.
Given the ties McCarthy and Brady have to the University of Michigan, and understanding what Brady is looking for in a quarterback, it’s hard to imagine the Raiders wouldn’t be buyers on McCarthy and be willing to include the no. 6 pick in a deal for him.
On his daily podcast this week, Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter essentially confirmed the Raiders would be buyers on McCarthy if the opportunity presents itself.
“J.J. McCarthy for sure. If J.J. McCarthy was available, I believe the Raiders would jump on him. I’m not guessing there either. They would jump at JJ McCarthy,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast. “But it’s a matter of does he become available? What happens with Sam Darnold? Do they franchise [Darnold], which is only a one-year deal, which [then] they shouldn’t get rid of [McCarthy] or do they give him a long-term deal? We’ll see where that all goes.”
x: @raidersbeat
McCarthy isn’t worth the multiple picks they are saying will take to swing a deal. He came from a run-first system at Michigan, at best he is an unproven talent. They would be fools to give up the farm for this guy. I’m not sure that he’s worth our 1st rd pick.
Agreed, plus he’s coming off a major injury. A year ago it would’ve made sense but not now.