The main objective this offseason for the Las Vegas Raiders is to finally find their long-term answer at the quarterback position.
Many possibilities exist for the Raiders in free agency and the trade market for a solution under center. That said, a rookie starter gives the Raiders serious cap flexibility over the next few years, giving general manager John Spytek a chance to upgrade several other positions. While top prospects such as Miami’s Cam Ward or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders might be available with the Raiders’ sixth overall pick, it is more likely they will have to trade up to secure one of them.
In a recent mock draft done by The Athletic, the Raiders choose to go bold and move up to ensure they get their guy.
The Raiders trade two picks to the New England Patriots to draft Sanders.
Selecting for the Raiders, beat writers Tashan Reed and Vic Tafur trade the sixth and 68th overall picks to the Patriots in exchange for their fourth overall pick, which gets used to select Sanders.
“It’s one of the worst-kept secrets in the NFL that the Raiders need a QB, and they were aggressive in their effort to land their signal caller of the future in the draft,” Reed and Tafur wrote. “They have an extra third-round pick as a result of the Davante Adams trade, so they didn’t hesitate to ship one out to land their guy: Sanders.”
“Sanders has a strong relationship (and had an NIL deal in college) with minority owner Tom Brady, has already met owner Mark Davis and should be comfortable in offensive coordinator Chip Kelly’s system, which blends NFL and college concepts. He doesn’t have dynamic physical traits, but he’s mobile, accurate, has a good arm and displayed important intangibles such as leadership, poise and the ability to navigate adversity during his time at Jackson State and Colorado. In drafting him, Las Vegas hopes to end the revolving door it has had at QB since releasing Derek Carr in 2023.”
Trading up makes sense for the Raiders to acquire a quarterback, and only moving two selections is fairly reasonable. The only question is whether the Raiders will even have to move up at all.
Neither Ward nor Sanders are considered as elite prospects, and the Tennessee Titans could prefer to use the number one pick on a better overall player like Colorado cornerback Travis Hunter or Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter. The Cleveland Browns might choose to go another route with the second overall pick as well, due to quarterback Deshaun Watson’s albatross contract. Realistically, the only team that is guaranteed to draft a quarterback in the top five is the New York Giants with the third selection.
A path has opened up for the Raiders to get a top quarterback in 2025, but whether they take it and how they get there is another matter.
