The Las Vegas Raiders undoubtedly upgraded their quarterback situation this offseason by acquiring Geno Smith from the Seattle Seahawks. But, between Smith's age (entering his age-35 season) and the team-friendly structure of his contract extension, it stands to reason that the team may target a young quarterback in the NFL Draft. New general manager John Spytek confirmed this last week.
"Anybody that can help us at that position in particular is going to be up for consideration," Spytek said. "You guys have all done your investigative journalism well enough to know that we brought some quarterbacks in and that wasn't by accident, by any means. We remain open to the most important position in sports to get right, and we're super excited to have Geno here, and we continue to expect him to be here for a while, but you can't have too many of those guys.”
The Raiders aren't in line to take a quarterback at No. 6 overall, not that they should, even if they love Colorado's Shedeur Sanders. Getting a potential quarterback of the future should be pushed to Day 2 or Day 3 of the draft, perhaps as early as the second round with the No. 37 overall pick. We know of one quarterback prospect in that range who has made it publicly clear that he likes the idea of playing for the Raiders, but another has thrown his hat in that ring.
Polarizing QB prospect reportedly views Raiders as ideal landing spot
On Sunday morning, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported on "SportsCenter" that Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe sees the Raiders as an ideal situation.
"(The) Las Vegas Raiders, I know, are on Milroe's radar because they have Geno Smith," Fowler said, via Bleacher Report. "(The Raiders) would be a team he would love to go to to slide behind Smith for a couple of years and learn."
After the NFL Combine, The Athletic's Tashan Reed reported that the Raiders were particularly impressed with two of the quarterback prospects they met "after going over Xs and Os on film." These players were Milroe and Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers.
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Fowler also acknowledged that Milroe is the most polarizing quarterback prospect in this year's draft class and that he has the highest upside of any player at the position. There is no questioning Milroe's ability as a runner, and he'll be one of the best quarterbacks in the league in that aspect if he becomes a starter. However, he has a lot of work to do to become an NFL-caliber passer, and he would clearly benefit from sitting for at least a year behind an established veteran.
Fowler noted the work Milroe is doing to improve his passing mechanics, which could could tempt teams (like the Raiders) to draft him earlier than expected.
"I've talked to his quarterback coach Jordan Palmer, he said they've been working for the last year on his fluidity, connection to the ground, which he believes will help him at the next level, that he's a very high achiever," Fowler said. "So, this is a guy where if you can stash him for a couple of years and play him, high, high upside."
Whichever quarterback the Raiders draft will be slotted behind Smith on the depth chart for a least one season, barring an injury. It's possible they remain impressed by Milroe with the draft just days away, and apparently, he sees the Raiders as a situation that will benefit him early in his NFL career.