Raiders Might Pick QB in First Round

With the Las Vegas Raiders headed to Indianapolis for the NFL Combine next week, they might pick a quarterback in the first round of the NFL Draft.

There has been widespread speculation that the Las Vegas Raiders will select a quarterback in the first round of the National Football League Draft in April, and the Silver and Black currently hold the 13th overall pick.

With quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and Brian Hoyer about to leave Sin City, this means Aidan O’Connell will have competition for the job and that the Raiders might have a rookie starting at quarterback for the second straight season after O’Connell went 5-5 as a starter after coming out of Purdue in 2023-24.

“Whatever quarterback we go with, we’re going out there and we’re whooping ass,” Coach Antonio Pierce, who elevated O’Connell to the starting spot midway through last season, said recently on the ESPN podcast “The Pivot.”

“ … At the end of the season he was playing some really good football that led to some wins for us. He put himself in a position to learn what it’s like to be a pro in the offseason because he could reflect on what he just did. If he didn’t have those opportunities, he would never know what mistakes he made.”

LSU QB Jayden Daniels has a long relationship with Antonio Pierce. Could he be the next starting QB for the Las Vegas Raiders? / Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Added Raiders new General Manager Tom Telesco: “I have a lot of learning to do to figure out this team from the inside, not from the outside. Obviously, Aidan played pretty well (last season), so that’s a plus.”

In addition, the Raiders could go looking for a veteran quarterback, as Kirk Cousins, Ryan Tannehill, Baker Mayfield, and Gardner Minshew might be available in free agency, but adding veteran Garoppolo didn’t work out so well for the Silver and Black last season.

The highest-rated quarterbacks in this draft are Caleb Williams of USC, Drake Maye of North Carolina, Jayden Daniels of LSU, J.J. McCarthy of Michigan, Bo Nix of Oregon, Michael Penik Jr. of Washington, and Michael Pratt of Tulane.

Some might not be available at No. 13 overall, so the Raiders might have to trade up in the draft if there is a confident quarterback they have their eyes on and want to get their hands on.

Surprisingly, the Raiders have drafted only five quarterbacks in the first round during their 64-year history.

They were Roman Gabriel of North Carolina State, who signed with the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League in 1962; Eldridge Dickey of Tennessee State in 1968; Marc Wilson of Brigham Young in 1980; Todd Marinovich of USC in 1991 and Jamarus Russell of LSU in 2007.

Showing that the ratings can be deceptive, the Raiders also selected quarterback Kenny “Snake” Stabler in the second round of the 1968 draft. Eventually, they moved Dickey to wide receiver after a while because they realized the left-hander from Alabama was the better quarterback.

Still, Stabler had to sit behind veterans Daryle Lamonica and George Blanda for five seasons before becoming the starter. Still, all Snake did then was become the quarterback rated the best in Raiders history.

In addition to passing for 19,078 yards and 194 touchdowns, Stabler posted a 96-49-1 record as a starter in 10 seasons with the Raiders, was the NFL’s Most Valuable Player and an All-Pro in 1974, was selected to four Pro Bowls and also was named to the NFL 1970s Team of the Decade.

Most importantly, Snake led the Raiders to a 32-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena to cap the 1976 season, during which the Silver and Black posted a 16-1 overall record.

Stabler finally was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016, sadly after he passed away the year before because of cancer.

So, Raiders, take note: despite the rankings, Snake showed you never who the best choice at quarterback is until he does it.

From February 27 to March 4, 2024, the NFL Scouting Combine will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.

The NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Mich., on April 25-27, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders currently hold the No. 13 overall pick.

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