Getty Raiders' Jon Gruden & Mike Mayock.
With Senior Bowl practices in full swing, the newly-minted Las Vegas Raiders have been well represented by general manager Mike Mayock and head coach Jon Gruden. The team coached one of the squads at last year’s Senior Bowl and while they’re not doing it this year, they’re still making sure to do their due diligence. One name who has popped up in a number of mock drafts for the Raiders is former Utah State quarterback Jordan Love.
According to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Love had a meeting with Las Vegas. The quarterback had a chance to talk about potentially playing for the Raiders.
“I’d love to play for that organization if they drafted me,” Love said, per Bonsignore.
Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa figure to be the first two quarterbacks taken off the board in the 2020 NFL Draft. Love has a real shot to be the third quarterback taken in the first round if he can impress with pre-draft workouts.
Mike Mayock Is Going to Evaluate Every Position
Though the Raiders already have a quarterback in Derek Carr, that doesn’t mean the team won’t look at the position in free agency and the draft. Mayock revealed that he’s going to scrutinize every position on the roster and quarterback isn’t safe from that.
“Every year I’m going to evaluate every position,” Mayock said, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “And if we think we can improve that position, we will. And if we think we can’t, we won’t.”
Mayock has praised Carr earlier this offseason, so his comments shouldn’t be looked at as a sleight towards the quarterback. Yes, Carr had a decent season in 2019 with very little wide receiver talent around him, but in a division where the Raiders will have to play Patrick Mahomes twice a season for the next decade, it’s imperative they get the quarterback position right.
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Love Has Been Compared to Patrick Mahomes
Speaking of Mahomes, Love has been compared to the Kansas City Cheifs phenom. Andy Reid turned some head when he drafted Mahomes in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft due to the fact that many analysts weren’t completely sold on him. Obviously, Reid was right and Mahomes could be considered the best quarterback in the NFL. Love has heard the comparison between the two and had a chance to talk about it.
“I mean, I like that comparison,” Love said this week at the Senior Bowl, per Bleacher Report. “We’ve both got strong arms. He obviously makes ridiculous throws, off-schedule, stuff like that. It’s something I’ve seen and tried to model my game after, just being able to make throws like that.”
Now, if the Raiders believe that Love will turn into Mahomes, then they need to pounce on him. However, the Chiefs quarterback is an anomaly and could be the NFL’s premier quarterback for the next decade. Players like that don’t grow on trees. Also, Mahomes didn’t have the interception problem in college that Love had. He might be an interesting pickup if the Raiders could move up and take him in the second round, but the two first-round picks should focus on wide receiver and linebacker.
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