Because the NFL/AFL merger in 1967, 13 teams have traded out of the No. 1 overall pick within the draft. The Raiders, owners of the No. 1 alternative this yr, won’t add to the whole. To no surprise, the Raiders plan on using the pick, which is “virtually unattainable,” per Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom.
The Silver and Black prevailed over the Giants in a late-season chess match to complete last. The Raiders secured the choice after shutting down their two best players, defensive end Maxx Crosby and tight end Brock Browers, ahead of a Week 17 matchup with the Giants. While it didn’t go over well with Crosby, now the topic of ongoing trade rumors, the Raiders locked up last place with a 34-10 loss.
Had the Giants fallen to the Raiders and ended the season thirty second, a trade involving the No. 1 pick could have been more realistic. In spite of everything, the Giants are optimistic they’ve a solution at quarterback in 2025 first-rounder Jaxson Dart.
With Dart in tow, the Giants would have been in prime position to receive a haul for No. 1 overall. The identical is true of the Raiders, but unlike the Giants, they’re in dire need of a prized young quarterback. They’re certain to take Indiana Heisman Trophy winner and national champion Fernando Mendoza with their pick.
If this yr’s class featured other high-end QB prospects, perhaps the Raiders would entertain moving down. But there is no such thing as a surefire first-round passer available beyond Mendoza. Arch Manning returning to Texas and Dante Moore staying at Oregon little doubt crushed some QB-starved teams’ hopes.
With Manning and Moore laying aside the NFL for one more yr, Raiders part-owner Tom Brady – arguably the best QB of all-time – is dead set on Mendoza.
“You aren’t getting that pick from Brady,” a GM out there for QB help told La Canfora.
In 2020, with LSU’s Joe Burrow looking like a generational prospect, the Dolphins reportedly offered the Bengals 4 first-rounders for No. 1. That wasn’t enough for the Bengals to pass on Burrow, who has lived as much as the hype when healthy.
On the potential for an identical offer for Mendoza, a GM said to La Canfora: “Is someone going to throw three ones (first-round picks) at them to draft the child from Indiana? That’s not going to occur. They’re drafting the quarterback.”
Mendoza is a robust prospect, but he isn’t on the extent Burrow was when the latter was on his method to the professionals. With that in mind, it’s unlikely one other team would mortgage the long run for Mendoza in the way in which the Dolphins would have for Burrow.
When Mendoza’s move to Las Vegas becomes official in April, he’ll form an attractive duo with rookie head coach Klint Kubiak. The Raiders are understandably desirous to pair Mendoza with Kubiak, whom they hired after he won Super Bowl LX because the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator last season.