The Las Vegas Raiders have now hired their head coach and general manager, so the next step is to determine who will be the starting quarterback. The team might go with a veteran and has previously been linked to Russell Wilson, who worked with Pete Carroll in Seattle for ten years.
However, this is merely a short-term fix for a long-term issue. At some point, the Raiders will have to be aggressive in the draft. Given that Carroll never won fewer than seven games with the Seahawks, Las Vegas may not draft as high as they do this year during his tenure.
This may be the year to make a move for a quarterback. According to CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso, the Raiders will trade with the Tennessee Titans for the first overall choice and then draft Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders with that selection.
“We cannot rule out the possibility of the Raiders — and new minority owner Tom Brady — making an aggressive push to draft Shedeur Sanders,” Trapasso wrote in a mock draft on January 24. “There’s a chance Sanders’ connection with Brady will make it too dicey for Las Vegas to simply hope and wait for him to fall to No. 6 overall.”
Shedeur Sanders: A ‘Polarizing’ Prospect.
Sanders, Miami quarterback Cam Ward, and Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter appear to be the top contenders for the first choice. Ward and Sanders, on the other hand, may not be regarded first-round picks in a subsequent draft.
This is viewed as a weak quarterback class, particularly in comparison to last season. Daniel Jeremiah, a former scout and NFL Network draft expert, does not believe every team adores Sanders.
“There’s pretty split opinions around the league (on Sanders), he’s pretty polarizing actually,” Jeremiah remarked on the Jan. 23 episode of the “Pat McAfee Show.” “The things that stand out to me when I watch him are that he has a pure throwing motion. He’s a natural thrower. The ball comes out of his hand really nicely. He’s incredibly accurate. He’s quite tough; he’s gotten the living tar kicked out of him during the last few years in Colorado. “Those few things you can’t deny.”
While Jeremiah praised Sanders, he also expressed his reservations.
“Now the people that aren’t as high on Shedeur as going to say he doesn’t have elite size, he doesn’t have an elite arm, and he’s not an elite athlete,” claimed Jeremiah. “So it’s as if he does everything right here and doesn’t cross the boundary. This is where some of the league’s disconnect originates. I believe that if you put him in the appropriate position and protect him, he can be extremely effective as a point guard.
No. 1 pick may be too high for Sanders.
If the Raiders finished the season with the first pick, they might have justified picking Sanders. However, they will now have to trade up, which will be quite expensive. Is Sanders good enough to justify the move?
Almost definitely not. If the Raiders can afford to pay at No. 6 and he falls to them, he’d be a sensible choice, but moving up for him could be hazardous.
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