Las Vegas Raiders should take a long look at Anthony Gordon at Combine
By Brad Weiss
Jon Gruden loves his quarterbacks, and if the Las Vegas Raiders plan to add one via the 2020 NFL Draft, Anthony Gordon should be on the radar.
The Las Vegas Raiders already have a franchise quarterback in Derek Carr, though there is some noise surrounding him that they will move on from No. 4 this season. While that is all noise until something actually happens, that does not mean Jon Gruden will not be active in scouting all available quarterbacks this offseason.
Big names like Philip Rivers, Tom Brady, and Jameis Winston will be available via free agency, though those three, outside of maybe Brady, are not serious upgrades over Carr. Las Vegas also holds two first round picks this April, two selections they could package to move up and get a Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert, though that seems unlikely as well.
Looking ahead, my guess is they will add a veteran to back up Carr in 2020, while bringing in a young signal-caller via the draft. Some have the team targeting a quarterback with one of their three third round picks, but if they wait until their last selection, pick No. 204 in the seventh round, they could get a solid option as well.
During his one year as the starter at Washington State, Anthony Gordon went absolutely nuts, throwing for 5,579 yards with 48 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. In addition, the senior completed better than 70 percent of his passes, running Mike Leach‘s Air Raid offense with perfection.
Not bad for a kid who sat behind Gardner Minshew the year before and threw only five passes.
Based on what we saw at the Senior Bowl, Gordon does not have elite arm talent, but he should still find himself picked late in the draft, or even signed as an undrafted free agent. Gruden is going to run a fine tooth comb through all the quarterbacks heading into the draft, and if he can get Gordon late, he should take a serious look at the selection.
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Gordon is not going to go early in the 2020 NFL Draft, and with the Raiders holding a seventh round pick, they could strike gold late. He has the ability to be a solid backup plan for this team moving forward, and as we saw during his time at Washington State, he certainly has the ability to will his team to victories.