The Las Vegas Raiders have been devoid of a franchise quarterback for over two decades since Rich Gannon left in 2004. It's no wonder that the team has exactly two winning seasons and zero playoff victories during that span.
New general manager John Spytek acquired the best player possible this offseason in Geno Smith, but the veteran signal-caller is far from a guaranteed success or a long-term solution. He should be able to propel the Silver and Black to the postseason while under contract for the next three years, but the Raiders need a succession plan for the 34-year-old.
While taking a quarterback in the first round this year may be a bit rich for Las Vegas' blood, there are several prospects with high ceilings that the Raiders should target. In fact, one young signal-caller could benefit from Pete Carroll's guidance and be the perfect understudy to Geno Smith.
The real Raiders-worthy QB prospect that everyone has forgotten about
Over the last week or so, the Raiders have hosted a slew of young quarterbacks like Colorado's Shedeur Sanders, Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart, Texas' Quinn Ewers and Ohio State's Will Howard. However, lost in all of these visits was the team meeting with Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, who is the exact kind of player that Las Vegas should be targeting in the middle rounds.
Milroe's ability to run the football from the quarterback position is rivaled only by players like Lamar Jackson and Justin Fields. When he steps on the field for the first time as a rookie, he'll already be able to do things that almost no other player can do, but he'll be inhibited by his short and intermediate accuracy issues.
That's where Geno Smith comes in. Over the last several seasons, Smith has been one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the league. Not only did he lead the NFL in completion percentage in 2022, but he completed 70.4% of his passes last season. If Milroe can learn from Smith and iron out these wrinkles in his game, then he could be on a fast-track for greatness.
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Like Smith, Milroe has a big arm and can evade the pass rush, but he struggles to find receivers when he is under pressure. In college, he would just take off and run, but that may not work in the NFL like it did in the SEC. If Smith can teach him how to keep his eyes upfield when scrambling, it would make Milroe's speed even more dangerous for opposing defenses.
Both players also struggled with turnovers in the early stages of their careers, but that's where Pete Carroll comes in. Milroe let mistakes snowball at times during his career at Alabama, and Smith threw 34 interceptions during his first two NFL seasons. However, Smith revived his career under Carroll, limiting himself to just nine interceptions in 2023. He said that Carroll re-taught him how to speak to himself, and he can do the same for Milroe.
Carroll is the kind of coach who instills confidence in a player, and Milroe needs just that. He could also stand to improve his accuracy and decision-making under pressure, and Smith is an ideal guy to learn from in that sense. Milroe may fly off the board earlier than expected, but if the team can take him at No. 37 or even trade up a few spots, they should lurch at the opportunity to take a player whose ceiling is higher than anyone else in the draft.