The Las Vegas Raiders have a clearer direction now that they’ve hired head coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco.
Pierce and Telesco will be tasked with getting the Raiders back into playoff contention, but the road to get there is tough because of the strength of the AFC West. Las Vegas is at a clear disadvantage at the quarterback position as they’ve currently got Aidan O’Connell slated to start during the 2024 NFL season.
Meanwhile, the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft features several high-level quarterback prospects like USC’s Caleb Williams, UNC’s Drake Maye and LSU’s Jayden Daniels. There is also the next tier of signal callers like Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., Oregon’s Bo Nix and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy.
ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky watched the Raiders stumble through the 2023 campaign and believes they need to trade up in the draft for a bonafide star quarterback via The Pat McAfee Show:
“You got to go jump if you’re Las Vegas,” Orlovsky said. “You’ve got a good talented defense. I think that Antonio Pierce is gonna have that group playing incredibly tough. You’ve got to go get a quarterback. You have no shot in that division. You have no shot if you don’t get a guy. I’m talking about a freakazoid. Because Justin [Herbert] is going to play awesome, you know they have Patrick [Mahomes], so they would be the one team that I would sit here and say you have to go up in the draft and get a guy.”
The Raiders currently own the No. 13 overall pick which should allow them to take one of the second-tier quarterbacks, though the real prize is at the top of the draft. The Chicago Bears would likely need a generational haul to let go of No. 1 overall, while the Washington Commanders and New England Patriots seem set to take a signal caller at picks No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.
It’ll be a challenge for Las Vegas to move up if there’s a quarterback they want, but things can change quickly between now and when the clock starts ticking.
Kliff Kingsbury pulls out of talks with Raiders for offensive coordinator position
The Raiders were in negotiations to hire former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury as their new offensive coordinator, but he withdrew his name from consideration before a deal was completed. With Kingsbury off the board, Las Vegas pivoted and decided to hire former Chicago offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.
