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With free agency about to kick off, the Las Vegas Raiders will need to decide soon if they want to build around a veteran quarterback or go after a rookie in the draft. It appears the team wants to find their quarterback of the future and is willing to trade a lot to make it happen.
However, it takes two to tango in a trade and there may not be another team that trades the Raiders a top-five pick to get one of the top prospects. If that doesn’t happen, Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports pitched that the team trades for the No. 30 pick from the Baltimore Ravens to get back into the first round and select Washington’s Michael Penix Jr.
“The Raiders didn’t trade up earlier to get a quarterback, but with Michael Penix on the board, they pull the trigger here,” Fornelli wrote in a March 8 mock draft. “Penix has a great arm and is an intriguing prospect, but by getting him in the first round, the Raiders get the fifth-year option with him.”
Penix arguably has the best arm of any quarterback in the draft and played six years in college so he’d likely be ready to be the Week 1 starter.
Michael Penix Worth a 1st-Round Pick?
Michael Penix’s draft stock has been all over the place in the past few months. There was a moment when it looked like he could be a top-10 pick but a poor performance against Michigan in the National Championship game has really hurt his stock.
There’s also the fact that he’s dealt with a number of serious injuries in his college career, including two torn ACLs. Penix is a risky prospect due to his age and injury concerns but as far as throwing the football goes, he’s as good as anyone in the draft. He can sling the ball over the field with elite accuracy.
A big drawback in his playing style is that he doesn’t move in the pocket very much. He’s not nearly as athletic as the other top quarterback prospects in this year’s draft. The NFL is favoring quarterbacks who can make plays with their feet but that’s not Penix. Now, that doesn’t matter as much if he can consistently pick teams apart from the pocket but he likely needs to be behind a very good offensive line to reach his full potential.
Las Vegas Raiders Add Quinyon Mitchell in This Scenario
What’s appealing about the scenario that Tom Fornelli lays out is that the Raiders don’t have to use their No. 13 pick on a quarterback. He has the team taking Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell.
“Depending on how the free agent QB shuffle goes, the Raiders may look to move up and get somebody in the top 10,” Fornelli wrote. “In this simulation, they grab the one player whose stock has soared throughout the entire pre-draft process.”
Cornerback is one of the team’s biggest needs this offseason and there aren’t great options in free agency with L’Jarius Sneed getting franchise-tagged and Jaylon Johnson signing an extension. If the play at No. 13 isn’t a quarterback, it’s likely that the Raiders either go cornerback, defensive tackle or offensive line.
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