Should Raiders be targeting Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders in 2024?

The Las Vegas Raiders are banking on Gardner Minshew or Aidan O'Connell being good enough to lead the team to the playoffs this season but neither has much long-term upside. They could go all-in on a big-name like Dak Prescott but the draft may be more realistic.

The Raiders will likely be too good to have the No. 1 pick, which could be Georgia's Carson Beck. The next quarterback off the board may be Colorado's Shedeur Sanders. Las Vegas would likely need to trade up to land him, but Bleacher Report's Alex Ballentine believes he's the quarterback the team needs to target.

"Shedeur Sanders is bound to be a lightning-rod quarterback prospect," Ballentine wrote. "His game isn't quite deserving of top-10 consideration just yet. But, as Brent Sobleski noted in his way-too-early 2025 mock, desperation is a real thing and the Raiders could be in that mindset if they have a top-10 pick at the end of this season.

"Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network gave Sanders a Geno Smith comparison heading into this year."

Sanders is certainly interesting and his father Deion Sanders has already endorsed the idea of him playing for the Raiders. In his first season at Colorado, Sanders threw 27 touchdowns to just three interceptions despite having lackluster talent around him.

He should have an even bigger year at Colorado in 2024. If that happens, it might be difficult for him to last past the first five picks. The biggest concern with Sanders is that he seems like a bit of a diva. He's a rich kid who hasn't had to work as hard to get his name out there.

That shouldn't be too big of a knock against him if he can play and he works hard. The pre-draft process will be very important for him to nail. Is he willing to go the extra mile to win games? Can he be a leader of men? Will he be able to handle tough times at the NFL level?

He's still young and there's plenty of time for him to mature. He certainly has the skill to be an NFL player. Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce has been great at managing big personalities so he could be the perfect coach for Sanders at the NFL level.