The Las Vegas Raiders would love to draft a quarterback, but given the fact that they own the 13th pick, it will be difficult for them to land one of the very top prospects unless one of them seriously slides.
Of course, the Raiders can always trade up into the top five, and Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay envisions a scenario in which Las Vegas can move all the way up to No. 2.
The second pick currently belongs to the Washington Commanders, who are widely expected to take either LSU’s Jayden Daniels or North Carolina’s Drake Maye (the feeling is that they will be going with Daniels).
Kay proposes that the Raiders could send No. 13, a second-round pick, a 2025 first-rounder and two other 2025 draft picks to the Commanders in exchange for No. 2.
This would give Las Vegas the opportunity to select Daniels, with whom head coach Antonio Pierce maintains a very strong relationship from their days at Arizona State. Daniels began his collegiate career with the Sun Devils where Pierce served as linebackers coach.
But would the Commanders feel comfortable trading back that far when they clearly need a quarterback?
Washington dealt Sam Howell to the Seattle Seahawks last month, and while it seemed fairly obvious that Howell was not the team’s quarterback of the future, it did signal that the Commanders were dead set on taking a signal-caller in the draft.
Yes, Washington can always take one of the lesser-regarded prospects like Oregon’s Bo Nix or Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. with a later pick, but you would think the Commanders would want to go all in on someone like Daniels at No. 2 to ensure they are getting one of the very top young quarterbacks.
The Raiders are currently employing Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew in their quarterback room, but O’Connell was relatively uninspiring in his rookie year, and Minshew is probably best served as a very capable backup. If the opportunity presents itself for them to move up to No. 2, you can bet that Pierce and Co. will take it.
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