The Las Vegas Raiders’ interest in LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels has been among the worst-kept secrets heading into the NFL Draft. Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce has a connection with Daniels dating back to his time on the coaching staff at Arizona State, where Daniels began his college career. The Raiders’ obvious need for a quarterback makes the pairing a logical one.
But with the Raiders having the 13th overall pick, the chances of moving into the top 3 of the draft to get Daniels are slim. That being said, the team has still reached out to teams about moving up, and there have even been rumors that Daniels himself doesn’t want to play for the Washington Commanders, who own the second overall pick, and is trying to force his way to the Raiders and a reunion with Pierce.
But the Heisman Trophy winner squashed all those rumors in a recent interview, saying that he will be blessed wherever he winds up and that he is perfectly fine being drafted by Washington, via Sam Fortier of the Washington Post:
Reporter: “There’s speculation that you may not want to go to Washington. Do you want to just squash that?”
Jayden Daniels: “I’m blessed to go wherever I’m called. Whoever calls my phone, (when the) commissioner gets up and says my name, I’ll be blessed, and they’re going to get… pic.twitter.com/UVDbZNSrwe
— Sam Fortier (@Sam4TR) April 24, 2024
With the draft basically here, it seemed as if Washington was zeroing in on Daniels with that second-overall pick, which made the rumors of him not being interested in playing there really stand out. But it now looks as if all of the Daniels to the Raiders rumblings will be for naught.
The Raiders still have other quarterback options. The team could move up in the draft for another prospect or stay put and target another position and possibly draft a quarterback later. There is still plenty of time for the Raiders to make that decision.
Rome Odunze would be ‘very interested’ in playing for hometown Raiders
One position that the Raiders would seem unlikely to target with their first-round pick would be a wide receiver, as that is not a position of need. But sometimes the draft plays out unexpectedly, and there could be someone available who wasn’t expected to be there.
University of Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze is one of the top receivers in the draft and is expected to go in the top 10. But he is also a Las Vegas native, and the idea of playing in his hometown appeals to him.
Odunze recently said that he would be ‘very interested’ in playing for the Raiders, and while it is highly unlikely that he would make it all the way to No. 13, the Raiders might have to take a long look at him if he did.
