The AFC West isn’t going to get any easier for the Las Vegas Raiders for a long time. The Denver Broncos are the one team they’ve been consistently better than in recent years but they recently hired Super Bowl-winning head coach Sean Payton. If he can fix Russell Wilson, the Raiders are in serious trouble.
Jimmy Garoppolo is a solid quarterback but there’s a strong chance Las Vegas has the fourth-best quarterback in the division. Patrick Mahomes just won the MVP and led the Kansas City Chiefs to their second Super Bowl win in four years. Mahomes is just 27 years old so he’s not going anywhere for a long time.
At a certain point, the Raiders are going to have to take a big swing on a quarterback who could compete with Mahomes and Justin Herbert. That could happen this year. The Raiders won’t have a chance to draft C.J. Stroud or Bryce Young but they could land Anthony Richardson. FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt believes that Richardson has a higher ceiling than Young or Stroud and is pushing the Raiders to trade with the Arizona Cardinals for the No. 3 pick so that they can ensure they draft the Florida quarterback.
“So, Anthony Richardson, who’s my ninth-best prospect in the overall draft, my third-best quarterback, and a guy I have said can be the best player in the league if you really refine his ability. What if the Raiders traded up (to No.3)?” Klatt asked. “Doesn’t that seem like an interesting landing spot? I just keep looking at this and I think that they could trade up from seven.”
Klatt Believes Richardson Fits Raiders
The Cardinals have a quarterback and a lot of holes on the roster. Trading down and getting more picks is a smart play for them. From the Raiders’ perspective, there is risk in drafting Richardson. He’ll be one of the most athletically gifted quarterbacks in the history of the NFL the second he is drafted but he needs a lot of work as a passer. He only completed 54.7% of his passes in college.
Klatt believes the Raiders can overlook that as they are a team that has always liked to take risks on players with great traits.
“The Raiders have always drafted traits over production. Guys that can run fast, guys that can throw hard. Again, there are times when he’s throwing some of those passes and he’s right on the money,” Klatt said. “Does it need to be refined? Yeah, sure. It needs to be refined, not unlike a lot of these players. But … you always focus on what a player can do than what he can’t do. Then let’s build a team around that.”
ANTHONY RICHARDSON FLIPPED A SWITCH 😱
(via @GatorsFB)
Richardson Makes a Lot of Sense in Las Vegas
Head coach Josh McDaniels knows the value of having a long-term franchise quarterback. He won six Super Bowls while coaching Tom Brady. Garoppolo will keep the Raiders competitive for the next couple of seasons but he’s not a long-term option and he’s nowhere close to as good as Mahomes or Herbert.
Having Richardson behind Garoppolo gives the team hope. He is talented enough to be a top quarterback in the league. Mahomes was considered a risk when he was drafted and sat behind a veteran quarterback for a year before taking the league by storm. Perhaps Richardson could have a similar trajectory. Now, it’s not fair to expect anybody to be as good as Mahomes but Richardson can be an elite quarterback if he can refine his game. The Raiders aren’t going to be viable in a loaded AFC if they can’t find a special quarterback. Richardson has a chance to be that special quarterback.
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Raiders Pushed to Trade for QB Who Could Be ‘Best Player in the League’