The Las Vegas Raiders thought they may have had their quarterback of the future in rookie Aidan O’Connell, but the early returns on O’Connell have not been great.
While it’s still far too early to make definitive judgments on O’Connell, the Raiders also need to make a decision heading into the offseason. Do they attempt to draft a signal-caller? Or do they stick with O’Connell and give him another shot in 2024?
Well, Draft Kings writer Nick Simon thinks that Las Vegas should attempt to make a big splash this spring and attempt to trade up for a quarterback in the NFL Draft.
“Between Jimmy Garoppolo and Aidan O’Connell, the Silver and Black clearly do not have a QB on the roster that can lead this franchise into the future,” Simon wrote. “And even with this being a QB-heavy draft, some of the top prospects may be gone by No. 8. So in this week’s mock exercise, we’ll project Mark Davis channeling his father by trading a draft haul to the Bears to select [Caleb] Williams with the No. 1 pick.”
Williams is widely considered to be the best quarterback prospect in this year’s draft class, so if the Raiders did somehow swing a deal for the No. 1 overall pick, Williams probably would be the choice.
Chicago owns the Carolina Panthers’ first-round draft selection, and with the Panthers being 1-12, the Bears could very well end up with the top pick, which is why Simon is suggesting that Las Vegas may attempt to make a deal with Chicago.
Of course, the question is just how much the No. 1 pick would cost the Raiders in return.
The Bears reportedly want to move on from Justin Fields and would like to replace him with a quarterback like Williams, so whether or not Chicago would actually be open to trading the pick is anybody’s guess. Perhaps if the Raiders put together an offer the Bears can’t refuse, something can get done.
Las Vegas is 5-8 this season and most recently lost to the Minnesota Vikings by a score of 3-0 in an absolutely listless effort from O’Connell and the Raiders’ offense.
O’Connell and Co. will take on the Los Angeles Chargers this Thursday.
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