Las Vegas Raiders: Strong Combine by QBs making it interesting at No. 7
By Brad Weiss
The Las Vegas Raiders could be in the market for a quarterback in the 2023 NFL Draft, after a strong showing by the position group at the Combine.
Coming up this April, the Las Vegas Raiders hold the No. 7 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, a pick they earned by winning only six games last season. Coming off a playoff berth the season before, the 2022 campaign was a disappointing one, but it has enabled the franchise to hit the reset button at the quarterback position.
Once Derek Carr was benched in Week 17, it was clear the team was going to move on, and Carr wasted no time, signing a four-year deal with New Orleans on March 6. The signing came right after the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, where the 2023 group of quarterbacks really showed out.
Players like Anthony Richardson, Will Levis, and especially CJ Stroud definitely saw their draft stock rise, while Bryce Young left Indy with many considering him a lock to get selected No. 1 overall. The effort put in by these young men made the Raiders’ No. 7 overall pick that much more interesting, and if they hope to bring in a signal-caller on Day 1 this April, they may have a lot of work to do.
Could the Raiders trade up to the top-5?
At the beginning of the draft process, many felt that if the Raiders wanted a quarterback outside of Young and Stroud, they would likely be in good shape at No. 7. However, after Levis threw a football nearly 60 miles per hour, and Richardson proved that he has everything you look for in a franchise guy, all four could end up going in the top 5 picks.
Teams picking ahead of Las Vegas, including Houston and Indianapolis, definitely need a quarterback, while Carolina, the New York Jets, and even Atlanta are picking high enough that they could get a deal done and jump the Raiders. Geno Smith just signed in Seattle, Jared Goff was solid in Detroit, and Kyler Murray is not going anywhere, so there are spots above Las Vegas that are prime for a team to move up and pick a quarterback.
There is also the issue that this is David Ziegler’s first Day 1 pick as the general manager of the Raiders franchise, so he has a lot more pressure on him than he did a year ago when his first pick came in Round 3. At first, it looked like this year’s QB class would yield nothing more than Young and Stroud, but now, Las Vegas has a real chance to get a franchise guy this April.