Getty Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce.
The Las Vegas Raiders are likely in the quarterback market in 2024 and may want to go with a younger option after going the veteran route with Jimmy Garoppolo last offseason. The 2024 NFL Draft class is ripe with good quarterback talent but there’s one player who could make the most sense.
LSU quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels got his college start at Arizona State where head coach Antonio Pierce was his recruiting coordinator and cornerback Jack Jones was on the team.
“J5 to da NATION,” Jones wrote in a January 21 X post.
J5 to da NATION
Daniels wears No. 5 so “J5” is almost certainly a reference to him. Based on this X post, Jones appears to be eyeing Daniels for the Raiders. That’s an idea that Pierce can get behind. He liked an X post about Daniels possibly coming to the Raiders.
Antonio Pierce liking tweets about Jayden Daniels wanting to be on the Raiders 🙏 😈
Pierce no longer likes the post but Heavy Sports verified that he did previously like the post. Considering Daniels was at the Raiders’ Week 18 game against the Denver Broncos and shouted out Pierce during his Heisman Trophy acceptance speech, there’s likely some mutual interest between the two sides.
Jayden Daniels Projected to Go Washington Commanders
The problem facing the Raiders and Jayden Daniels if they’re hoping to pair up is that the quarterback is simply too good to be available to the team at No. 13 in the first round. In Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft for ESPN, Daniels is predicted to go No. 2 to the Washington Commanders.
“The bottom line is it’s tight between Daniels and Maye on my board, but Daniels would be an tremendous fit for a Washington roster that has some young playmakers on offense,” Kiper wrote in his January 23 mock draft. “Maye’s inconsistency at the end of the season is enough for me to put Daniels at No. 2. The reality, though, is the Commanders just hired their new general manager and still don’t have a coach, so there’s a lot to figure out about which direction they go.”
There isn’t a precedent for top quarterback prospects to force themselves to specific teams so it’s going to be very difficult for the Raiders to land the quarterback if that’s who they are eyeing.
How Las Vegas Raiders Can Get Jayden Daniels
The Chicago Bears, Commanders and New England Patriots all own the top three picks in the 2024 NFL Draft. All three of them could draft a quarterback. If the Raiders are hoping to trade up to get a quarterback, it could cost a lot.
The Commanders and Patriots are both undergoing major front office and coaching changes this offseason. A new general manager may be open to trading back and adding a bunch of picks. The Raiders could be a quarterback away from being real playoff contenders so it could be worth the price to trade up.
If the team wants Jayden Daniels or another top quarterback prospect, they’ll have to be willing to give away future picks. If not, they could stay put at No. 13 and go after Washginton’s Michael Penix or Oregon’s Bo Nix. Those quarterbacks don’t have the huge upside as a player like Daniels but they’d likely provide an upgrade over Aidan O’Connell.