Raiders hopes of forging a path that ends with Jayden Daniels is increasingly unlikely, despite the run of rumors indicating how much the team wants to pair Antonio Pierce with the former Arizona State recruit. A consolation prize is now being brought up.
The Raiders would have “loved” to find a way to trade up for Daniels, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter offers, before adding that route will be “impossible” to complete. Las Vegas holds the No. 13 overall pick, while the 2023 Heisman winner may be the frontrunner to go off the board at 2.
With the Commanders presumably interested in adding Daniels to their roster, the Raiders — who sit behind the QB-needy Vikings (No. 11) and Broncos (No. 12) — would stand to be effectively stonewalled on this front. As our Ely Allen noted recently, the Raiders probably lack the capital to make a move that big. A recent report indicated the team may not be in lockstep on trading up at all, with Pierce perhaps higher on climbing to land a QB than GM Tom Telesco.
While this rumored disagreement would create an interesting conflict ahead of the duo’s first draft together, the Raiders do have Gardner Minshew on a two-year, $25MM deal. The recent Colts fill-in starter could mentor a young QB in need of seasoning. With a route to the top four set to be difficult to make happen, the Michael Penix Jr.–Bo Nix tier would be worth looking into.
On that note, Schefter adds some chatter in the QB community has pointed to the Raiders eyeing Penix. Raiders-Penix whispers are growing louder, Vic Tafur of The Athletic adds (subscription required). Though, Tafur does not mock Penix to Las Vegas. The impressive deep-ball thrower has generated more interest among coaches than scouts, with the latter contingent iffy on his overall package — due to his past injuries and some accuracy issues beyond the deep ball. Some coaches have ex-Washington southpaw rated higher than some of the top-tier arms in this draft class.
Certainly fans of the long game for much of their history, the Raiders once upon a time would have been a natural team to tie to Penix. The recent CFP national championship game starter finished his sixth and final college season with a Division I-FBS-most 4,903 passing yards (8.8 per attempt) and 36 TD passes, forming a lethal combination with likely top-10 wideout pick Rome Odunze. This included a 430-yard outing to move Washington past Texas in the CFP semifinals. A transfer from Indiana, Penix averaged more passing yards per game in his first year at Washington (2022).
The Raiders hosted Penix on a “30” visit, being among the eight teams to have scheduled a meeting with the first-round-caliber prospect. Some might view grabbing Penix at 13 a reach, but the draft regularly bumps up QBs due to their towering positional value. Nix has also trekked to Las Vegas for a meeting.
This draft will be quite interesting for the futures of two AFC West franchises, with the Broncos appearing in worse QB shape than their rivals. The Penix-Nix prospect tier will be one to monitor closely in connection with both teams, as the Vikings — who acquired the No. 23 overall pick from the Texans last month — have more ammo to trade up by comparison.
I think that Las Vegas COULD get that done, but that it will involve a piece that they don’t to lose, in either Crosby or Adams, plus some valuable picks. Do I think that they should? No, I do not (especially because, aside from on field talent, those are two team leaders who also supported the Pierce move). But I think that they could.
If management wanted this badly to move up for a QB, they would have done so. That’s the main takeaway that I would have. So, if the rumors of Vegas being very favorable of the moving up idea are true, and if the rumors of a disagreement on that are true as well, then I’d think that it’s also true that Pierce is the one more in favor of moving up. I think that most GMs, if they were fixated on a specific quarterback, would move up for him, and would deal a current star to make it happen.
If the Raiders don’t, it seems that their management is not quite as high on that strategy as others. I think that they have the pieces (the best DE or WR from the last few years would be a great get for a team in Washington that could use either), management is just unwilling. In my mind, not making that trade seems like a smarter move for the Raiders. The cost is doable, but extreme.
No problem drafting him; but trade back, collect picks, and get him in the mid 20’s range. Injuries and age are his biggest knocks so he’ll drop down some.
I could be wrong, but way too many writers and mocks think the Raiders will draft Penix at #13 because maybe they need a QB. If he was all that good, he’d already be gone by that time. You have Chi, Wash, NE, Minny, Denver and maybe the Giants looking for a QB.
I would trade back and see who falls. The offset to all the QBs being taken early is that some pretty good players, including CB & RT, are going to fall.
I’d be looking at Philly with their #22 & #50 (as their opening bid), GB with their #25 & #41, (as their opening bid), or Carolina, because they still have the #33 & #39, and Tepper is a complete wildcard in the draft. And I assume that CAR will be looking to add a top-tier WR to make their Young pick look better.
I would have thought the Raiders would be one of the first teams to jump in on the “available veteran quarterbacks” carousel a month or two ago. They seemed to really gel under Pierce and it seemed like a natural.
Then they let Jacobs go and are looking at a rookie QB in addition to Minschew? Seems strange
Based on O’Connell’s last 6 games, including KC twice, Minny and the Colts, I’d give him another shot. Solidify the OL and defensive backfield, and then look at 2025 if the O’Connell gamble doesn’t work out.
What? In the KC win he didn’t complete a pass after the first quarter.
I’m afraid I’m with Steezy. In my opinion, O’Connell hasn’t been good. Analytics aren’t fond of him either. I don’t think that he’s settled in the pocket much, either, since starting earlier in the year. Minshew didn’t play as well as he has in the past, but he’s a superior option to O’Connell in the mean time. Drafting a rookie wouldn’t be a bad option, provided that the Raiders are, of course, smart about what they give up to do so. There are other routes that they go, like at tackle.
Yup, and despite that epically awful game, his rating was 93.7 over the final 6 games with a 7.11 AY/A. Herbert gets a gazillion for his career 95.7/6.56. Murray has a 92.2/6.02.
Young had a 73.7/3.68. Stroud had a 100.8/7.47. Levis had a 84.2/5.66.
Levis, even for a full year, is O’Connell’s statistical twins, and he goes in as the presumed starter, with no intentions of drafting a QB.
Draft a RT at 13 which is a major need regardless, then trade into the back of the first round and get penix. A RT is his blindside so that’s gonna need to be addressed in a major way anyways.