The Las Vegas Raiders won too many games in the last stretch of the 2023 NFL season, and they are now in a poor position to choose a quarterback. The team does not pick until 13th in the first round, which presumably puts them out of reach for a top prospect.
The Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders, and New England Patriots have the first three picks, and all of them need quarterbacks. That makes a move up to the top three unlikely. According to Tashan Reed and Vic Tafur of The Athletic, this will not prevent them from trading in the $5 to $7 range.
“The Raiders have been exploring trading up — and maybe not as high as you think, according to league and team sources,” Reed and Tafur wrote in a March 4 article. “It may be unrealistic to make a deal to move into the top three picks because the Bears (No. 1), Commanders (No. 2), and New England Patriots (No. 3) all require quarterbacks. Caleb Williams (USC), Daniels (LSU), and Drake Maye (North Carolina) are usually regarded as the best three quarterback prospects available.
The Los Angeles Chargers (choose No. 5), New York Giants (selection No. 6), and Tennessee Titans (pick No. 7) are all potential trade-up candidates. The Chargers are unlikely to want to deal with Las Vegas, so the Giants and Titans are the most likely alternatives. The Raiders’ dilemma is that picking at No. 6 or No. 7 will likely put them out of reach of their favoured option.
Las Vegas Raiders ‘Love’ Jayden Daniels
One of the worst-kept secrets heading into this year’s draft is that the Raiders are interested in former LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, according to Tashan Reed and Vic Tafur.
“The Las Vegas Raiders love Jayden Daniels, we all know that,” Tafur and Reed wrote. “But if the Chicago Bears and/or Washington Commanders love the Heisman Trophy winner as well, it’s going to be impossible to move ahead of the top two teams in the draft to get him.”
Daniels has a lengthy history with Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce, as Reed and Tafur explained.
“Pierce has a strong relationship with Daniels stemming from leading his recruitment as an assistant coach at Arizona State — Daniels played there from 2019 to 2021 before transferring to LSU in 2022 — but there’s been chatter at the NFL combine that Daniels could go as high as the first pick in the draft,” the authors wrote. “Perhaps there’s a window to trade up if the Bears and Commanders both take quarterbacks and the Patriots aren’t sold on whoever remains at pick No. 3, but that’s a difficult situation to project.”
Which quarterback could the Las Vegas Raiders target?
The Raiders could make an attempt to trade for Jayden Daniels, but there are more plausible choices. Former Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy is perhaps the most plausible option if the team trades up to No. 6 or No. 7.
He’s risen quickly through the draft rankings and appears to be the fourth quarterback selected. If McCarthy does not make the cut, Las Vegas might wait until the second round to see if Bo Nix or Michael Penix Jr. fall, but the Raiders appear to be ready to be aggressive in their pursuit of a quarterback, and waiting until then is dangerous.
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