Getty Las Vegas Raiders GM Tom Telesco.
The Washington Commanders appear locked into the idea of drafting a quarterback with the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Las Vegas Raiders also have a big need at quarterback and appear to have the most interest in LSU’s Jayden Daniels.
The issue facing the Raiders is that Commanders are likely to take Daniels if they keep their pick. If Las Vegas truly wants Daniels bad enough, they’re going to have to pay a very steep price to convince Washington to move down. Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal pitched his idea of a “Godfather” offer the Raiders could offer the Commandeers.
“That means Antonio Pierce’s strong desire to draft Daniels could lead Telesco to make the Commanders an offer for the No. 2 overall pick they can’t refuse,” Bonsignore wrote in an April 2 column.
“One scenario would involve the Raiders sending Washington the 13th pick, their second-round pick, their 2025 and 2026 first-round picks and a 2026 third-round pick.”
The Commanders are in a total rebuild under new ownership, a new head coach and a new general manager. The team hasn’t won a playoff game since 2005 and has massive needs all over the roster. Getting five picks from the Raiders could certainly help jumpstart a rebuild and they’d still be able to add a different quarterback this year later in the draft.
Too Much Pressure on Jayden Daniels?
The Raiders would be giving a lot to get Jayden Daniels in this scenario. Sending away five picks in the first three rounds would be a steep price for any player, especially one who has never taken an NFL snap.
Vincent Bonsignore believes this could put Daniels in a tough position.
“It would place an immense amount of pressure on Daniels to justify the price the Raiders paid to get him,” Bonsignore wrote. “It would also put Pierce under scrutiny to make it work.
“On the other hand, no one will care about what the Raiders surrendered for Daniels if he turns into the franchise quarterback the team has lacked for decades.”
If the Raiders traded all those assets to get Daniels and if he wasn’t any good, he’d go down as one of the biggest busts ever. That said, the team has unique insight into Daniels as head coach Antonio Pierce recruited the quarterback in college. If he’s worth this kind of trade, Pierce would know.
Jayden Daniels was special on Saturday.
Enjoy these 5 plays from his masterpiece.
Is Jayden Daniels With Trading 5 Picks?
If the Raiders were to pull off the trade that Vincent Bonsignore is pitching, they would be all-in on Jayden Daniels. If he didn’t pan out, the team would likely struggle and wouldn’t have many high-end picks to fix the roster for a few years.
That would be the type of situation that would get both Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco fired. Are they ready to take that big of a risk in their first years? It depends on how good they think Daniels can be. It seems highly unlikely the Raiders will be able to get him but not being able to find a good quarterback is also a recipe for getting fired. The Raiders have some tough decisions to make in the coming weeks.