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The Las Vegas Raiders’ season is over, and now all they have to look forward to is improving the roster during the offseason. The team has one of the most crucial decisions to make in franchise history ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft, as they own the number one overall pick. The Geno Smith experiment failed, so consensus is that Las Vegas will draft either Fernando Mendoza or Dante Moore with the first overall selection. It isn’t clear which way the Raiders are leaning, and the Indiana vs. Oregon game in the Peach Bowl will certainly have large implications on the Raiders’ decision.
The team isn’t locked into choosing one of those quarterback prospects, though, and the Raiders will certainly ensure they exhaust all options to make the right choice. After all, the team has only picked first overall once before, and they selected JaMarcus Russell, the biggest draft bust in NFL history. The Russell decision set the franchise back for years. If the Raiders don’t fall in love with Mendoza, Moore, or one of the other prospects in this class, they could just outright trade the pick.
That would be a risky decision, but trading out of pick one isn’t unprecedented. In fact, the team that owned the number one pick originally has traded it away 13 times before, most recently in 2023 when the Carolina Panthers traded up to take Bryce Young. Could the Raiders do the unexpected and trade the number one pick? If they did, what kind of trade package would come in return?
The cost of acquiring the first overall pick has certainly increased over the years. The first time that pick one was traded was when the 1967 New Orleans Saints moved the selection that would become Bubba Smith for a backup quarterback of the Baltimore Colts. Granted, expectations were high for Gary Cuozzo because he was Johnny Unitas’ backup, who was one of the best players in NFL history.
Still, this was an underwhelming return for New Orleans, and Cuozzo failed with the Saints because he only lasted one season with the team. The Bears-Panthers recent trade was the first overall pick for DJ Moore, the ninth overall selection, two second-round picks, and a future first-rounder. The Bears got the better end of that deal because the Panthers struggled in Young’s first season, so the future first-round pick turned into another number one overall pick, which the Bears used to take Caleb Williams.
Other notable draft classes where the first pick was traded were 2001, 1995, and 1968. In 2001, both the San Diego Chargers and Atlanta Falcons reaped the rewards of making a risky trade for years to come. The Atlanta Falcons moved up to pick one to select Mike Vick. While there is a case that Lamar Jackson has since passed him, Vick was long viewed as the best rushing quarterback in NFL history. He revolutionized the game,...
