Raiders Looking for a Snake in the Grass, err, Draft
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Derek Carr has been the starting quarterback for the last nine years, but he is out the door, and the Las Vegas Raiders are looking for the next signal-caller to be the offensive leader of the Silver and Black.
The Raiders brought in Jimmy Garoppolo, but with his injury history, you can't blame the franchise for looking to the NFL Draft for the next great Raiders quarterback.
But what if the Raiders brought in a highly-regarded rookie as their new franchise quarterback?
Draft expert Lance Zierlein has been displaying daily on the Pro Football Network that the Raiders should select quarterback Will Levis of Kentucky with the seventh selection of the National Football League draft.
“One of the most polarizing quarterbacks in this draft lands in Las Vegas, where he will have a plethora of talented pass-catchers to target,” Zierlein has written of his first-round projection for the Raiders.
Levis helped Penn State to the 2019 Cotton Bowl as a backup, and after transferring to Kentucky later, he led the Wildcats to a 20-17 upset of No. 15 Iowa in the Citrus Bowl by passing for 233 yards and a touchdown.
Levis drove Kentucky 80 yards to a game-winning six-yard touchdown run with 1:47 left in that game.
And ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. also is high on Levis, and in fact, Kiper has said that Levis is the best NFL quarterback prospect in this season’s NFL Draft.
“Levis played in a pro-style offense at Kentucky, and he’s not going to need much time to adjust to the NFL,” Kiper wrote. “He can maneuver the pocket and throw on the run. Many of his turnovers came when he tried to use his arm to force throws, and he’s going to be punished for mistakes at the next level. Levis is the real deal, though, and there are lots of fans of him in the NFL.”
The 6-3, 232-pound Levis posted an 18-8 record as a starter in college, all but two of those games with Kentucky, and passed for 5,876 yards and 46 touchdowns while also rushing for 742 yards and 17 touchdowns.
“(Levis) has exceptional arm talent with a lightning-quick release, and his 6-foot-3, 232-pound frame perfectly fits the NFL QB mold. He can make any throw on the football field, and there are times when he makes it look easy,” NFL Draft Profile wrote.
“He’s not just a pocket passer either, as Levis also possesses a dynamic running ability that should bode well for him in the pros.”
In addition to Levis, Charlie Campbell of Walter.Football.com claims that the Raiders should select quarterback Anthony Richardson of Florida with the seventh pick in the NFL Draft.
The 6-4 232-pound Richardson played only one full season as a starter for the Gators, taking them to a 6-6 record while passing for 2,549 yards and 17 touchdowns while rushing for 654 yards and nine scores last season before announcing that he was turning pro.
In Florida’s biggest victory last season, Richardson passed for 168 yards and rushed for 106 yards and three touchdowns, the last from two yards with 1:25 remaining, to give the Gators a 29-26 upset of No. 7 Utah.
“Richardson has rare physical talent with great size, a howitzer for an arm, and the speed and athleticism as a runner,” Walterfootball.com wrote. “In some ways, Richardson is like a shorter Cam Newton. Richardson's supporters will point to Josh Allen as an example of a similar quarterback working out. Still, there have been many other first-round talents with good skill sets which never developed into accurate, effective quarterbacks, like Mitch Trubisky, Blake Bortles, E.J. Manuel, Marcus Mariota, Robert Griffin III, etc.
“Thus, Richardson is a risky pick because he is a pure boom-or-bust prospect, but there is no doubt that some coach or GM will fall in love enough to take him in the first or second round during the 2023 NFL Draft.”
The Raiders haven’t done so well drafting quarterbacks in the first round, selecting JaMarcus Russell of LSU in 2007, Todd Marinovich of USC in 1991, Jeff Francis of Tennessee in 1989, Marc Wilson of USC in 1980, and Eldridge Dickey of Tennessee State in 1968.
None went on to become big stars.
However, the Raiders moved Dickey to wide receiver and the player they selected in the second round that year, Kenny “Snake” Stabler of Alabama, became the greatest quarterback in Raiders' history.
The 2023 NFL Draft will go from April 27-29 and be held at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo.
The 2023 NFL Year and Free Agency period began at 4 p.m. EST on March 15. The Raiders are expected to be significant players in the free-agent market this offseason.
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