The Las Vegas Raiders face a difficult decision at the quarterback position.
With no easy route to either Miami’s Cam Ward or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, the Raiders will have to get creative to come up with a reasonable solution.
Perhaps it involves a free agent such as Russell Wilson or Justin Fields, or even swinging a trade; Carroll getting Geno Smith back from the Seattle Seahawks is something that comes to mind.
Either way, it does not feel like a matter of if the Raiders draft a quarterback, but when they decide to take the shot.
According to Pro Football Focus’ Josh Liskiewitz, that answer is longer than most Raiders fans would expect.
Instead of swinging a deal to move up in the order, Liskiewitz has the Raiders standing pat with their sixth overall selection and drafting Michigan cornerback Will Johnson.
“Injuries shortened Johnson’s 2024 season, but he remains a prototypical lockdown corner with the tools to make an immediate impact at the next level,” wrote Liskiewitz.
“Over three seasons, he was targeted 122 times, allowing just 63 receptions and two touchdowns — both of which came in 2022 as a true freshman. He also recorded nine interceptions and 13 forced incompletions.”
With the inconsistency of Jack Jones and slot cornerback Nate Hobbs hitting free agency, picking up reinforcements in the secondary is essential. Johnson is the clear second-best cornerback behind Colorado’s Travis Hunter, and there is an argument that he possesses a similar ceiling to the Heisman Trophy winner.
The second round does not see the Raiders pick up a quarterback, either; instead, Liskiewitz has Las Vegas drafting South Carolina linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. to bolster the middle of the defense.
“Knight is a do-it-all defender with impact ability at every level of the game,” Liskiewitz said. “Over the final 10 games of 2024, he missed just one tackle in run support, allowed a passer rating of only 61.7 in coverage and generated pressure on 25% of his pass-rush snaps.”
With linebackers Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo becoming free agents, the need for depth is massive. The return of defensive coordinator Patrick Graham opens the door for at least one of them to return, but pairing one with Knight would create a linebacker duo that can fill multiple roles from the second level.
In the third round, the Raiders pick up Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins before, with the pick received from the New York Jets in the Davante Adams trade, Las Vegas lands their potential quarterback of the future in Alabama’s Jalen Milroe.
Milroe’s accuracy remains a concern, but his elite athleticism makes him a constant big-play threat on the ground,” wrote Liskiewitz on the Alabama product. “He thrives as a deep-ball passer, recording 16 big-time throws with just one turnover-worthy pass on throws 20-plus yards downfield.”
While Milroe’s weaknesses were highlighted during a rough Senior Bowl week, teams will still pursue him due to his freakish athleticism and prototypical arm strength. The Raiders will certainly need him to spend at least one year on the bench to get acclimated to the NFL, but Milroe has the skillset to elevate a team if developed properly.
This setup would be an excellent first two days of the draft for the Raiders, shoring up the defense before addressing arguably their two biggest needs at running back and quarterback.
Raiders fans are a couple of months away from figuring out if this scenario comes to pass.
Major outlet predicts Raiders bring in promising quarterback
