Getty Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels.
If the Las Vegas Raiders are interested in adding a quarterback in the upcoming draft, they aren’t doing a great job of hiding their interest. Head coach Josh McDaniels has admitted that drafting a quarterback is certainly a possibility and the team is meeting with all of the top prospects. Is the team just doing its due diligence or is this an elaborate smokescreen? That will be difficult to know until the draft actually happens.
If the Raiders are going to add a quarterback in the first round, it’s likely that it will be either Kentucky’s Will Levis or Florida’s Anthony Richardson. C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young are likely to be gone by pick No. 3. While Richardson seems to have gained much of the momentum to be the third quarterback drafted, not everybody is buying that he should be taken before Levis. FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd recently put together a mock draft where he predicted the Raiders to trade with the Indianapolis Colts to get up to pick No. 4. With that pick, Las Vegas would take Levis.
“The Raiders move up from seven to four and take Will Levis,” Cowherd predicted on “The Herd.” “Listen, I got issues with Will Levis but he is what Jimmy Garoppolo isn’t. He’s healthy, he’s athletic and he’s got a big arm. Josh McDaniels sees himself as a bit of a quarterback guru. He took the very raw Tim Tebow in the first round and Levis is a significantly better prospect.”
Colts Not Taking a QB at 4?
The Colts have widely been expected to take a quarterback with the No. 4 pick. The team has tried to fix the quarterback position with veterans in recent years and may finally decide to find a long-term solution. The last four quarterbacks the team drafted in the first round were John Elway, Jeff George, Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck. That’s a very strong track record even considering George didn’t live up to his status as a No. 1 pick.
What all four of those quarterbacks have in common is that they were No. 1 picks. The Colts could get the fourth quarterback off the board if they stay put at No. 4. However, if they decide to fill another need, there’s a chance they could get the No. 1 pick in 2024. That would put them in a position to draft USC’s Caleb Williams or UNC’s Drake Maye, who would both likely be the top two picks if they were in this year’s class. Perhaps trading down a few spots with the Raiders is a smart long-term move for Indianapolis.
Levis or Richardson?
In Cowherd’s mock draft, the Raiders would have Levis and Richardson still on the board. He doesn’t have the Florida quarterback getting drafted in the top 10. Many other mock drafts have Richardson being a top-four pick. Levis and Richardson are both big and athletic quarterbacks from the SEC who need a lot of work before they are ready to start.
Richardson is the faster and more athletic of the two while Levis is the more experienced and stronger. They both have boom or bust potential. Based on how the offseason has gone, it appears the Raiders are more interested in Richardson but it’s impossible to know exactly how they feel this time of year. McDaniels likes a smart quarterback and Levis was a member of the Football Academic All-America of the Year in 2022. That’s not to say that Richardson isn’t also a smart player but Levis has played in a lot more games and has proven he can play in a pro-style offense.