Raiders draft: Thoughts on quarterback situation

There very likely won’t be a Day 1 rookie starter in Las Vegas

On a night the Las Vegas Raiders made a surprising selection of Georgia tight end Brock Bowers with the No. 13 pick, the major story is the franchise will leave this draft without a top quarterback prospect.

Let’s look at what it means:

It’s AOC or Minshew:

It very likely will either be free-agent addition Gardner Minshew or second-year incumbent Aidan O’Connell has the Raiders’ starting quarterback in Week 1. That was the soft plan when Minshew was signed on the first day of free agency. But now, it’s almost a lock. We would think Minshew is the favorite because he is being paid low-level starter money. Still, this will be a competition in training camp and in the preseason. They key is for whoever to win the job is to show enough to keep it long term.

Shut out:

The story of the entire draft was that six quarterbacks went in the first 12 picks. That’s ridiculous. Who knows if Michael Penix (who went No. 8 to Atlanta) or Bo Nix (who went No. 12 to Denver) would have been the Raiders’ choice if they were on the board at No. 13. But, in my mind, the Raiders may have dodged bullets. These guys were over drafted and are no sure things. The value just wasn’t there and the Raiders’ decision was made up before they got the chance. So for all the Jayden Daniels and Penix talk, the Raiders never got the chance. After the draft, Las Vegas general manager Tom Telesco said the Raiders didn’t try “particularly hard” to trade up for a quarterback, although there was a report that they tried to get Penix. I think they were lucky to get rebuffed.

Who’s left?

The reaches at the position will likely continue Friday because of demand. The next quarterbacks taken will likely be in the third tier which consists of Spencer Rattler (south Carolina), Michael Pratt (Tulane) and Jordan Travis (Florida State). It won’t be a shock if the Raiders take one of these three quarterback. All three, though, may be reaches in the second round, but it’s now very plausible that Rattler goes in the second round. Whoever is the Raiders choice, will be a developmental option for 2025 unless they have an unexpected fast rise to the field.

The competition:

While six teams added at the position Thursday night, there are other teams that will strike in the final two days. In addition to the Raiders, the New York Giants, New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks, New Orleans Saints, Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams could all take a quarterback.

2025 class:

You never know how a quarterback draft class is going to develop, but the early thoughts on next year’s class is that it’s not strong. So, if O’Connell or a rookie taken in this class isn’t the answer next year, the Raiders may be going another year without a certain answer at the position after Thursday night’s turn of events.