The Las Vegas Raiders are in quite the conundrum in terms of the NFL Draft.
On the field, the Raiders celebrated their first win since Week 4, defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars 19-14 on Sunday.
Off of it, however, future plans for the team became shrouded with uncertainty.
With their victory, the Raiders have slid down the draft order from first to sixth, dropping them out of the likely range of quarterbacks like Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders or Miami’s Cam Ward.
The new placement now puts the Raiders in somewhat of a bind, forcing them to devise a strategy on what to do if the plan is to draft a potential franchise quarterback.
One such option was laid out by CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson, whose mock draft shows the Raiders trading up with the Jaguars to draft Sanders with the third overall pick.
“Good luck finding someone tougher than Shedeur Sanders,” said Wilson.
”He’ll stand in the pocket and take hit (after hit after hit) to make a play downfield. He’s not the athlete and doesn’t have the arm strength of Cam Ward, but he does a lot of things really well. I would like to see him play on time more consistently, but part of that has to do with Colorado’s inconsistent offensive line.”
With the second overall pick belonging to the New England Patriots, who drafted a quarterback last year in Drake Maye, the Raiders are not entirely eliminated from the Sanders sweepstakes quite yet. It would now just require more effort to come out on top.
Of course, if the demands of the Jaguars or Patriots are unreasonable, the Raiders do not necessarily have to go that route. For a roster that needs help almost everywhere, sacrificing too much draft capital is not a winning strategy.
With the sixth overall pick in Wilson’s mock draft, the Jaguars would use the Raiders’ pick on Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham. The next three picks would be used on Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter, Michigan cornerback Will Johnson and Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams.
All four of these players fill a need that the Raiders have on defense, leaving the option open to draft one of that quartet at six and focusing on quarterback later. With four picks in the top 100 selections, the Raiders are certainly not lacking in ammunition.
The Raiders’ road to a franchise quarterback became more challenging after Sunday’s results. That does not, however, mean that all hope is lost.
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