Oakland Raiders: Exploring a few potential Draft Day trade scenarios
By Kevin Saito
The Oakland Raiders are in a good spot with the tenth pick in the draft, able to address a bevy of needs — but, let’s look at a few possible trade scenarios.
Picking at number ten overall, the Oakland Raiders are sitting in a very good spot in the upcoming NFL Draft. They can, of course, address some glaring needs on their roster and strengthen the team. Or, they can accrue a little more draft capital by trading down.
Trading down is always a risk. If you move back too far, you may not be able to land the guy you covet most. But, if you can move back, acquire a little more capital, and still pick up the player you want, you’ve hit a home run.
With quite a few teams out there quarterback needy, and with some believing at least five will go in the first round, some teams are likely going to be clamoring to climb upward with the hope of landing one of the top passers in this class.
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By the time the Raiders are on the clock, it’s seems pretty certain that Josh Rosen and Sam Darnold will be gone. It’s very possible that at least one of the other top quarterbacks in the class –“ Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson — will be gone as well.
But, with some combination of names like Minkah Fitzpatrick, Bradley Chubb, Saquon Barkley, Quenton Nelson, Derwin James, Denzel Ward, Tremaine Edmunds, Roquan Smith, and possibly Mike McGlinchey possibly coming off the board as well, the Raiders are going to be in a spot to take a very, very good player.
And with a couple of quarterbacks still available, it could be tempting for some teams to try and engineer a deal to move up.
Depending on how the order shakes out, as teams jockey for a better position, it’s definitely possible that Allen, Mayfiled and/or Jackson is available at ten. Other names who’ve moved up a few Draft boards like Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph and Washington State’s Luke Falk will almost certainly be available.
While Rudolph and Falk would be considered reaches at ten — and some suggesting that even Jackson would be — some teams are so desperately in need of a quarterback, they may throw caution to the wind and do a deal or risk being left out in the cold.
Let’s then, take a look at a few potential scenarios that make some degree sense and have the Raiders trading down in the first-round.