2021 NFL Draft: Should the Las Vegas Raiders trade back in round one?

Should the Raiders stay at No. 17 overall?

As is the case every draft season, there are a bunch of teams in the first half of the first round looking for help at the quarterback spot. In fact, you could say that the majority of the teams picking before the Raiders are looking for a new quarterback, including Jacksonville, New York, Atlanta, Carolina, and even Denver.

All of that movement could lead to an elite player falling into the Raiders’ lap at pick No. 17, as Micah Parsons from Penn State has been mocked to Las Vegas in the middle of the first round. Parsons is a player who could be a three-down linebacker for the Silver and Black, helping solidify a position group that has been a real issue for them in recent memory.

Staying at No. 17 would enable the Raiders to get someone who could help them right away, and based on need, they may want to stay put, especially as the first round starts to unravel in April. They can go into the draft holding their current slate of picks, and if the chips fall a certain way, and a player they really like is there, staying at 17 makes a lot of sense.

There is also the argument that the Raiders could go into the 2021 NFL Draft with more draft capital than they have today, as they could possibly trade away guys with a value like Marcus Mariota and Trent Brown. Both of them would net the Raiders some draft capital, and both players should be very much on the table this offseason, so moving down for more picks may not even be an issue.