Sitting at 5-8, the Raiders are almost out of playoff contention officially. With one more loss, they’ll have a losing record for the first time since 2019. While making the playoffs was always the goal, the Raiders also need to add more young talent to their roster.
In a recent article by ESPN, they projected where each team will finish in the draft order after the season. For the Raiders, that was at No. 9. But what might the Raiders do with their top pick? Here is what the site had to say about the upcoming offseason for the Raiders:
“A year after waiting until the third round to make its first selection — the new regime of general manager Dave Ziegler and coach Josh McDaniels dealt first- and second-round picks to Green Bay for wideout Davante Adams — Las Vegas again needs to get a little bit of everything.
Little has changed, even with stars such as Adams, running back Josh Jacobs and defensive end Maxx Crosby on the roster. The wild card, though, is quarterback. Because even though Derek Carr signed a three-year, $121.5 million extension with a no-trade clause last offseason, the Raiders have a three-day window after the season to move on with a relatively cheap $5.6 million salary-cap hit.”
While it’s certainly possible that the Raiders could entertain the idea of selecting a quarterback to replace Carr, they have so many other needs on the other side of the ball. They’ve got to get better in the secondary and they need another impact player on the defensive line.
Luckily for the Raiders, this class is pretty strong on defense and there are several intriguing options at cornerback. If the Raiders do wind up with a top-10 selection, look for them to address their defense early.
