Raiders news: Tanking for the 2024 NFL Draft No. 1 overall pick?

Coming off a six-win season in 2022, would the Las Vegas Raiders really tank for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft?
Raiders NFL Draft
Raiders NFL Draft / Andy Lyons/GettyImages
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The Las Vegas Raiders go into the 2023 NFL season looking to rebound from a six-win season that made them one of the worst teams in the NFL last year. The Raiders ended up going from a playoff team to picking in the top-10 of the 2023 NFL Draft, something nobody saw coming after landing Davante Adams and Chandler Jones in the offseason.

Entering 2023, there are very low expectations for the Silver and Black, and most media outlets feel they will win less than five games this season.

Over at NFL Spin Zone, Michael Thompson put together a list of seven NFL teams that could possibly tank for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Thompson broke the list into three categories: Intentional losers, teams that could be good but will probably not be, and then a group labeled "how stable is the foundation."

The Raiders were listed in the second group, as a team that could be good this season, but will probably not be. Thompson spoke about the demise of the Raiders after making the playoffs in 2021, and how Josh McDaniels will be leaning on Jimmy Garoppolo to right the wrongs in 2023. Atlanta joined the Raiders in this category.

While this could happen, Thompson does not believe it will.

Intentional losers were the Arizona Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Washington Commanders while the foundation teams were Denver and the Los Angeles Rams.

Could the Raiders tank for the No. 1 overall pick in 2024?

The No. 1 overall pick would obviously land the Raiders a franchise-changing player like Caleb Williams, a talented quarterback from USC. However, a season that lands the Raiders the No. 1 overall pick in 2024 would likely mean wholesale changes with the roster once again next offseason, putting the Raiders even further away from a playoff spot in the near future

There is a lot to like about this Raiders roster, and if Josh Jacobs returns, they will have three players on the roster who were recently listed in the Top-100 for 2023, as voted on by the players. However, there are also a ton of question marks, so the Raiders are either going to be a surprisingly good team this season, or have the fan base suffer through another season missing out on the playoffs.

If things go sideways early in 2023, the No. 1 overall pick is definitely a possibility.

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