When this new regime took over, and when Tom Brady became a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, Mark Davis made it clear that the Raiders would be using Brady's expertise in evaluating QBs in the draft. They have needed a franchise guy for some time now, so why not ask the best of all time?
And, initially, this made everyone happy. You have the greatest player of all time, who happened to be a quarterback, making the decision, or part of the decision, on who the team would draft at QB moving forward. After trading for former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, the Raiders still let everyone know they planned to attack the QB position in the draft.
Due to Brady's relationship with Shedeur Sanders, most thought the pairing would be inevitable, but the Raiders passed on him a handful of times, as he fell to the fifth round and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns. It turns out, Brady didn't have any part in it at all, which is just a small reason the Raiders never targeted Sanders.
“There’s... I — I — it’s a good question,” Brady said on Impaulsive, “I wasn’t a part of any evaluation process or to see that.”
So, it sounds like they actually didn't get any input from Brady at all when it came to the QB position in the draft. And, Brady's comments about it all kind of make Davis look bad, considering that's what was promised to the fans.
Of course, that doesn't mean Brady's relationship with Sanders is bad or damaged. He still reached out to the Browns' rookie QB.
“I actually texted Shedeur because I know him very well, and I said, ‘Dude, like, whatever happens, wherever you go, like, that’s your first day. Day two matters more than the draft. I was [pick number] 199. Yeah. So, who could speak on it better than me, like, what does that really mean? Use it as motivation. You’re gonna get your chances. Go take advantage of it.”
The Raiders still ended up drafting Cam Miller, the North Dakota State quarterback, in the sixth round. Maybe they think there is something there that could be untapped. Miller has great accuracy, can make some very nice throws, but doesn't have the biggest arm.
With Brady in his ear and watching from Smith, Miller could be the next quarterback for all we know.
