Getty Las Vegas Raiders GM Tom Telesco.
It appears the Las Vegas Raiders have been working the phones trying to make a big trade-up in the draft. It’s no secret the team likes LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels but the only way to have an almost guaranteed chance to get him is to move up to the No. 2 pick.
According to an April 23 X post from NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Raiders attempted to trade for the No. 2 pick from the Washington Commanders but were rejected.
It’s unclear what the Raiders offered or if they made an offer at all. The Commanders could simply be turning down teams without hearing them out. Washington needs a quarterback badly and picking at No. 2 gives them many options.
For the Raiders, it shouldn’t come as a surprise they couldn’t get up to No. 2. The Commanders probably need a quarterback more than them so the price to move up could’ve been astronomical even if Washington was willing to listen. The Commanders are likely locked into a quarterback, which is why they aren’t considering moving down. The Raiders will need to explore other options now that Washington has made their stance clear.
Jayden Daniels Appears to Be Target at No. 2
For a moment, it looked like the Commanders might not end up drafting Jayden Daniels. There was some behind-the-scenes drama between the two sides but it looks like it has gotten worked out.
According to NFL Network’s Peter Scharger, the two sides have ironed things out and it looks like Daniels is going to be the No. 2 pick.
“I think on Friday afternoon, I would have had a different conversation with you, to be honest. … I think the last few days things have settled a bit,” Schrager said on the April 23 episode of the “Pat McAfee Show.” “And I don’t know if there’s been conversations with Dan Quinn, or with Kliff Kingsbury, but from all the intel that I’m gathering, it sounds like Daniels [No. 2] to the Commanders is a lot more likely now than it might have been on Friday.
“If I’m going to put my name on something now, I think Jayden Daniels is going to go [No. 2] to Washington. And then they still have five picks in the top 100, they can surround him with more.”
Nothing is set in stone until Daniels’ name is called at the NFL Draft but it’s looking like the Raiders won’t even get the chance to draft him.
Would Las Vegas Raiders Still Trade up for Different QB?
If Jayden Daniels is off the board at No. 2, the Raiders will have to look elsewhere. The only other quarterback they’ve been heavily linked to is Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. The team hasn’t shown a ton of interest in UNC’s Drake Maye or Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy.
Both of those quarterbacks would likely require the Raiders to trade up so it’s hard to imagine either will end up in Las Vegas. If the team is going to take a quarterback in the first round, it appears that it would be Penix, who should be available when the team picks at No. 13. He could also be available later in the draft.