Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden is meeting quarterbacks ahead of the NFL Draft, what does that mean for the future?
According to reports around the NFL, Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden is using some of the team’s pre-draft meetings on quarterback prospects. The reports specify that he met with former Oregon Ducks quarterback Justin Herbert via a remote meeting service.
If the COVID-19 outbreak wasn’t upon us then Gruden probably would have brought Herbert in for a visit to the Raiders facility or at another location to talk shop in person.
The Raiders have been linked to every top quarterback prospect other than Joe Burrow who is a slam dunk to be the number one pick. Former Alabama and Oklahoma QB Jalen Hurts was a popular subject of the rumor mill but he has seen his stock rise to the second round where the Raiders currently do not have a pick.
The other popular rumor is the Raiders taking a flyer on Utah State QB Jordan Love in the first round and stashing him on the depth chart for a year. Love is a raw prospect that has drawn comparison to Patrick Mahomes and the draft valuations of him vary widely.
The common saying is that where there’s smoke there’s fire but in the case of the smoke rising from the meetings with Herbert, it’s more likely a smoke screen than anything of substance. The Raiders currently have Derek Carr and Marcus Mariota in the QB room and if they do pick a QB it will not be with a top selection due to much more pressing needs.
Gruden is entering the third year of his second reign with the Raiders and what he wants to do more than anything is win. Derek Carr proved he can win games when he isn’t stripped of every weapon like he was in 2018 and Mariota has taken his team to the playoffs so the Raiders already have two capable options on the roster. This is more likely a smokescreen to keep other teams guessing as to what the Raiders might do with their two first round selections.
Could they trade up for a QB or another impact player? Or could they trade down to stock up on picks on day two or three or get back in to the second round? All of the options are on the table and Gruden is more than likely just running interference to hide his and Mike Mayock‘s true intentions.
They say that Gruden’s favorite QB is the next one but this year, with the move to Las Vegas finally happening and the need to begin the era with a winning mentality, bringing in a rookie QB is a recipe for disaster. Gruden is probably just trying to relive the Gruden’s QB Camp glory days without the camera crews around.