Sportsnaut
The Las Vegas Raiders‘ season was over weeks ago, but it wasn’t until Week 18 that the best news of the season was finalized. And that is getting to select first overall in April’s NFL Draft. It is just the second time in team history that they have had the No. 1 pick, and it seemingly comes at the perfect time, with the franchise in desperate need of a long-term answer at quarterback.
Heading into this year’s event, Indiana Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza and Oregon’s Dante Moore are considered the top two QBs available. However, Moore’s performance in the Peach Bowl definitely hurt his chances of being the No. 1 pick. Mendoza seems to be the Raiders’ likely choice, but he isn’t viewed as a no-doubt, generational talent. And whoever becomes their next head coach could decide he is not worthy of being the No. 1 pick.
The Raiders have a lot of problems that a rookie QB won’t fix. So what if they wanted to maximize the value of the selection and boldly trade it? With that in mind, here are five crazy trade ideas for the No. 1 pick that could benefit Las Vegas in multiple ways.
As mentioned, taking Mendoza at No. 1 isn’t going to fix the mess of a 3-14 team that just fired its head coach after one season. However, having a couple of picks in Round 1 would give their next head coach the chance to land a pair of roster anchors for the next decade.
If the Raiders aren’t in love with Mendoza after evaluating him, but the New York Jets are, trading the No. 1 pick for Gang Green’s selections at No. 2 and No. 16 makes sense. Las Vegas could still take Moore and get a top 20 prospect in one fell swoop.
The team firing their last two head coaches following one full year shows ownership wants to win now. So taking a rookie QB and patiently waiting to develop him for the next few years by not excite decision makers. Why not dangle it in a pick for a proven star QB from a rival team? Perhaps Cincinnati Bengals superstar Joe Burrow?
Are the Bengals likely to move their top star after he created speculation about his enjoyment of the game? Probably not. But what if the Raiders offered the No. 1 pick (an opportunity to replace Burrow with a cheaper option) and Maxx Crosby (a replacement for Trey Hendrickson) in a trade? Mendoza would have an excellent chance of immediate success throwing to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Crosby would be a defensive building block. And the Raiders get a franchise QB who is still only 29.
It’s a wild idea, but a potential win-win that both teams should at least consider.
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