Commanders Draft Rumors: Raiders Trading to Reunite Coach With QB Jayden Daniels?

Raiders trading up with Commanders to reunite quarterback Jayden Daniels with head coach Antonio Pierce?

The Washington Commanders hold the No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft, but considering the demand for quarterbacks, there's a chance that they could move the pick to a team like the Las Vegas Raiders to accumulate more picks and rebuild. 

One reason the Raiders could be interested in a move up is that new head coach Antonio Pierce was the associate head coach at Arizona State back during reigning Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jaylen Daniels' tenure with the team.

What would it take in a trade for the Las Vegas Raiders to land the No. 3 overall pick from the Washington Commanders and potentially reunite Jaylen Daniels with head coach Antonio Pierce? / USA Today Sports

"It was great," Daniels said at the NFL Combine after interviewing with Las Vegas. "Obviously, going in there, I already knew Coach Antonio Pierce, but just overall, meeting the whole staff, meeting everybody else was great. Great energy, be able just to sit down and talk ball."

Daniels played 29 games with the Sun Devils before eventually going to the LSU Tigers and becoming one of college football's top players en route to winning the prestigious Heisman Trophy as a fifth-year senior. 

Now Pierce's old quarterback is in high demand, with the New England Patriots allegedly targeting him with the No. 3 overall pick, so the bigger question is, what would it take for the Raiders to move up from No. 11 to No. 2 in this year's draft?

Last year, the Arizona Cardinals traded the No. 3 pick and a fourth-rounder (No. 105 overall) in exchange for a trade package comprised of the No. 12 overall pick, a second-round pick (No. 33), and an additional first and third-round pick, the following year. 

NFL Draft Rumor: Commanders & Patriots Trading Top Picks?

Flash forward to now, and it would likely take a similar package for Las Vegas to move up nine spots for Washington's top pick. So the question is, would the Raiders' No. 11 pick, No. 42 pick, No. 145 pick, a 2025 first-rounder, and a 2025 third-round pick be enough to convince the Commanders not to take a top quarterback themselves? 

Washington fans should keep an eye on Daniels because an impressive performance at his LSU Pro Day on March 29 could be enough to sway Las Vegas to offer a boatload of draft capital to the Commanders before the NFL Draft next month.