As has been said every offseason for who knows how many years in a row now, the Las Vegas Raiders need to find a franchise quarterback. That much is obvious. Luckily, they are guaranteed to have a top-three pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, and right now, they're the frontrunners to land at No. 1.
That would give them their choice of either Indiana's Fernando Mendoza or Oregon's Dante Moore, who are expected to be the top two signal-callers available. However, there is no guarantee that Moore will come out, and the Raiders aren't out of the woods yet with one week left in the season.
There are arguments to trade back and acquire a mountain of picks or take another transformational player and wait until next year for that quarterback of the future in a supposedly stronger 2027 class. But Jaxson Dart just showed Raider Nation why getting that player in the building is so important.
Raiders just saw up-close how critical a good young quarterback is
On Sunday, Las Vegas hosted Dart and the New York Giants, and the visiting NFC East team dominated in a 34-10 victory. Dart destroyed the Raiders' defense, completing 22-of-30 passes for 207 yards, and he added 48 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
While New York is still just 3-13 on the season after a lopsided win in Week 17, the Giants are in a much, much better situation than Las Vegas is. That is simply because they already have their franchise signal-caller on the roster and learning the ropes in the NFL.
New York has a star pass-catcher in Malik Nabers, their Brock Bowers, a great young running back in Cam Skattebo, their Ashton Jeanty, and a stud defensive end in Brian Burns, their Maxx Crosby. But Las Vegas does not have its Jaxson Dart, and that makes all the difference in terms of outlook.
Whereas the Raiders are aimless, the Giants are developing a clear vision of how to build around Dart. He's recorded nearly 700 snaps against NFL defenses this season, and when New York gets healthy and adds even more of a supporting cast around him, that experience will pay massive dividends.
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The Raiders aren't a quarterback away, and some would argue that putting a rookie behind Las Vegas' current offensive line would be malpractice. But free agency exists for a reason, and there are ample veteran offensive linemen set to be available for John Spytek to bolster the trenches.
Even if the Raiders are bad again next year, which is a distinct possibility, having a rookie quarterback even performing at an average level would give the fan base so much to look forward to. It would give the front office a direction and one major thing not to worry about in the coming years.
Obviously, merely selecting a quarterback does not ensure that Las Vegas will have a brighter future, as players don't pan out in the NFL all the time. But Dart showed on Sunday just how important it is for franchises to have a young signal-caller in place, even if things are still a dumpster fire around them.
Going into the game, New York wanted the No. 1 pick as a luxury. For the Raiders, it was a necessity. The Giants at least have something to cling to in this dark season, but Las Vegas really has nothing. That is the difference between a franchise with and without a young and promising quarterback.