The Las Vegas Raiders put the offseason quarterback carousel in motion on Friday when they traded a 2025 third-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for Geno Smith.
Smith makes sense for the Raiders as he is a massive upgrade over the players they have currently under center and has experience working with new Raiders head coach Pete Carroll. The two spent four seasons together in Seattle, the last two of which Smith was the full-time starter.
While he is slated to be under center for at least a few more seasons, Smith will be 35 years old for most of next season. That means that the team still needs to find their quarterback of the future, and although that may not be in this year's draft, there are a few prospects that could be worthwhile projects for the Silver and Black.
Shedeur Sanders is an unlikely pick at No. 6 now, but the middle rounds will be littered with quarterbacks who have great physical tools and need a solid veteran like Geno Smith to learn under.
Which rookie QBs could Raiders pair with Geno Smith?
1. Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss)
Dart enjoyed a successful three-year tenure at Ole Miss under head coach Lane Kiffin, who used to be Carroll's offensive coordinator at the University of Southern California in the early 2000s. While plenty of NFL scouts look down on the quarterbacks that Kiffin has produced, Dart could break the mold and be the first to have success at the professional level.
The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Utah native threw for 4,279 yards and 29 touchdowns in his senior season as a Rebel and also ran for 495 yards and three touchdowns. Dart is a dual-threat quarterback, much like Smith is, and both are highly accurate when throwing the football. He has drawn comparisons to Bo Nix and Carson Wentz, both of whom have shades of Geno Smith in their game, so this pairing could make sense for Las Vegas.
2. Jalen Milroe (Alabama)
Milroe may have the most upside of any quarterback in the draft class. While his hand size is seen as a concern for some, he can do things on the football field that most other players cannot due to his elite arm strength and combination of speed and agility. The major knock on his game is his lack of accuracy, so pairing him with Geno Smith, who has been one of the most accurate passers in the league over the last three years, may be the best thing for his development.
Las Vegas still has a third-round pick, and Milroe should be a priority in that range if he is still available. A second-rounder may be too much to wager for a player with so many deficiencies in his game, but there is no denying his potential. At Alabama in 2024, Milroe threw for 2,844 yards and 16 touchdowns but also added 726 yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground. His floor may be low, but but after a few seasons with Smith and Chip Kelly, his ceiling could be quite high.
3. Will Howard (Ohio State)
Howard makes a lot of sense for the Las Vegas Raiders. With Geno Smith now set to be their starting quarterback for the next few seasons, the team will be in the market for a project, and Howard is exactly that. He was a bit erratic throwing the ball at the NFL combine, but he is one of the bigger-sized quarterback prospects set to be available this year.
He played for Chip Kelly at Ohio State last season and had, by far, his best collegiate season. He is commonly compared to big-arm quarterbacks like Will Levis or Mason Rudolph, but he has more running ability than most think. In addition to his 4,010 passing yards and 35 touchdowns through the air, he contributed 226 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. Howard could use a player like Smith to learn from as he continues to work on his accuracy in hopes of becoming a starting NFL quarterback in the future.