It’s a precarious position the Raiders find themselves in. Where they have a pick in the top half of the first round, but not high enough to be in range of one of the draft’s top passers.
Currently the top three quarterbacks are Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Jaydon Daniels. They should come off the board quickly. After that there is a dropoff at the position. And the Raiders first pick is way down at 13 overall.
Making a move to get one of those top three guys could prove incredibly difficult. But that’s just what Dan Orlovsky thinks the Raiders would have to do to have any shot of competing in the AFC West next year.
"The Raiders have a talented defense and Antonio Pierce has that group playing incredibly tough..
They have to move up in the draft to go and get a Quarterback" ~ @danorlovsky7 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/r7wH4i2GfO
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 5, 2024
“You got to go jump if you’re Las Vegas,” Orlovsky said in an appearance on the Pat McAfee show this week. “You’ve got a good talented defense. I think Antonio Pierce is gonna have that group playing incredibly tough. You’ve got to go get a quarterback. You have no shot in that divisiison. You have no shot if you don’t get a guy. I’m talking about a Freakazoid. Because Justin [Herbert] is going to play awesome, you know they have Patrick [Mahomes], so they would be the one team that I would say… you have to go up in the draft and get a guy.”
McAfee threw out free agent Kirk Cousins as an option which Orlovsky quickly shot down saying that was “not enough.”
Orlovsky has a point, but a move up is easier said than done.
The top three teams in the draft all figure to be looking quarterback. That means Williams, Maye, and Daniels very well could go in those top three picks without a trade even happening. The only possible trade being tossed about is the Bears and Commanders flipping the top two picks so Washington’s new OC Kliff Kingsbury could pair up with Williams.
The outside chance seems to be if the Bears opt to stick with Justin Fields at QB. Then it would mean the Raiders would have to go for broke to jump up to get that top pick.
Would it be worth it? Sure, why not. If you want to win, you have to get a franchise QB and to get him, you have to be bold.
The other argument would be to go with someone like Kirk Cousins and hope the upgrade on offense plus the newly formidable Raiders’ defense can be enough to make a legitimate playoff run.
