Antonio Pierce took the kids to Disney World after the NFL owners’ meetings in Orlando, Fla., and then jumped back on the quarterback-draft prospect ride Wednesday at Jayden Daniels’ pro day at LSU. We all know that Pierce and Daniels are close from their days together at Arizona State, and the Las Vegas Raiders are getting the sneaking suspicion it’s going to be very hard to trade up from No. 13 into the top 3.
Caleb Williams is all but signed, sealed and delivered to the Chicago Bears at No. 1 and it sounds like the coaches and general managers at the owners’ meetings all think the next three picks will be quarterbacks. There’s Daniels and North Carolina’s Drake Maye and then there is the wild card in Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, who won a national title last season by handing the ball off. But he has all the measurables and arm traits and his former coach, Jim Harbaugh — now with the Los Angeles Chargers — has been yelling about how special he is.
Pierce even said Monday that McCarthy has to be in the top three, but all I heard was a guy playing poker. I don’t think the Raiders have McCarthy in the top three on their draft board.
Michael Penix Jr. had his pro day Thursday, and the Washington product is the No. 5 quarterback in the class. He followed up a nice showing at the NFL Scouting Combine with a sharp performance where he also ran somewhere between a 4.46 and 4.56 40-yard dash, depending on whose stopwatch you looked at. Either way, very impressive.
And then you can’t forget Oregon’s Bo Nix, who played about a decade of college ball.
What will the Raiders do?
What questions did you have in this week’s mailbag?
It’s all very exciting.
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Note: Submitted questions have been edited for clarity and length.
What do you believe is a realistic package to move into the top four? I have a feeling it would be steeper than the price the Carolina Panthers paid for Bryce Young last year. If we decide on that, would we trade into the No. 4 pick and take whoever’s left or trade up to No. 2 and take our favorite? — Janner T.
I think it’s going to take at least three draft picks, and they very well might all be first-rounders. There are a lot of teams shopping for quarterbacks, plus you have to convince one of the top three teams in the draft that they don’t really need a quarterback. And I can’t see the Washington Commanders not taking one at No. 2.
Josh Jacobs left for a better offer from the Packers — and that’s OK. (Kirby Lee / USA Today)
I heard that Josh Jacobs chose the Green Bay Packers over the Raiders even though the offers were close. True? — Matt M.
I am trying my best to stop shooting down people’s reports and keep my monster truck in my lane, but nah, that’s not true. The Raiders made what they thought was a fair offer — and it was the second-best offer — but it wasn’t close to the Packers’ offer of $14.8 million guaranteed in Year 1 (and likely $23 million for two years).
And that’s OK. Jacobs was a great player for the Raiders and took more money to join a playoff team with old buddy Rich Bisaccia on staff. That’s his hard-earned right. The Raiders had a “fair” number they weren’t going to move from, and history shows that is usually wise with running backs.
If Penix didn’t have an injury history, would he be a surefire first-round pick? — Chris M
He is going to be a first-round pick. Penix might be the best deep and intermediate thrower in the draft. And he tested out great medically at the combine.
I’ve been a Raiders fan since I popped out of the womb 50 years ago. But over the last 30 years, 99 percent of it’s been hot garbage. This draft has me somewhat excited because I think there are some really nice defensive players and a few top-end offensive linemen who could really help this team. I’m so tired of reading we’ll be taking Penix. Please tell me we won’t be doing this!! If so, I told all my buddies I would no longer be a Raider fan. He’s a stiff who’s been injured a lot in college. — Aaron D.
JaMarcus Russell and all those bad draft picks didn’t do it. Antonio Brown coming in on a hot air balloon and making a circus of training camp daily didn’t do it. All the bad coaching decisions over the last two decades … but Penix is going to push you over the edge? He was pretty good last season and he will bring back the deep pass to the Raiders. Give him — or any of the rookie QBs — a shot. Maybe the Raiders hit on one finally.
Can you talk me out of Penix at 13 if he’s there? I get the injury history thing, but at some point, the Raiders have to swing for a QB and hope it works out. I like some prospects at other positions but none seem like the type of game changer a QB can be. Plus, it seems risky to hope Penix falls to a place where the Raiders can trade up to get him. Just take him at 13. — Jess A.
Here I am calming Aaron down and you say that. I just don’t think that is good value, and that’s what the draft should be all about — maximizing value. I think he will still be there in the mid-20s at least. Trade down from 13 or trade up from 44.
Tom Telesco doesn’t have a history of trading back. With that in mind, does it make sense to take a top cornerback at No. 13, right tackle or guard in the second and trade up in late second for Spencer Rattler? I think any QB outside the top four comes with concerns and Rattler doesn’t have the injury issues like Penix. — Shawn S.
Rattler also doesn’t have the winning issues like Penix. Pierce wants a QB1 and I think Rattler would be behind Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell. And maybe not just this season.
Was cash a factor in some of the major offseason decisions this year? New head coach (instead of at least interviewing Jim Harbaugh), getting the third option at offensive coordinator, or not going after Kirk Cousins at all? Plus anything else I’m missing. — Eric F.
Nah, Mark Davis is making it rain dollar bills thanks to the new stadium. He gave Josh McDaniels $50 million to disappear because he knew pretty quickly he had a big mistake with the whole Patriots Way thing. He didn’t make a call to Harbaugh because he thought Pierce earned the job, and while that may be questioned down the road, it had nothing to do with cash. And Kliff Kingsbury got cold feet and the contract was his way out — the Raiders don’t give assistant coaches three-year deals, and that wasn’t an issue when the Raiders thought Kingsbury was coming aboard.
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Should Mark Davis have played the long game and kept McDaniels around for the whole season so that they could be drafting top three? — Anonymous
No, but he should have listened when I wrote that at 5-8, the Raiders should do something outside the box and decide on Pierce right then and rest an injured Maxx Crosby and others. My guy Crosby called the idea “bulls—” — as he should — but the Raiders would be sitting with the fifth pick and it would be so much easier to move up and get a franchise quarterback than it is from No. 13.
Do you think Dave Ziegler deserves more credit for building a strong foundation of players? The roster has talent. — Ernesto F.
Hey Dave. It was good seeing you at the combine. Two words. Chandler Jones. Also … signing Derek Carr to an extension and then benching him less than a year later and getting nothing back for him in trade trumps signing Jakobi Meyers, Robert Spillane and Marcus Epps. And let’s not even bring up Jimmy Garoppolo. Good luck with getting into the broadcasting business.
With the new kickoff rule, who do we see returning kicks? Tre Tucker? Re-sign DeAndre Carter or a rookie? — Nathan M .
I could see DeAndre Carter coming back.
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Do they draft another receiver in the middle part of the draft? — Clark A.
Yeah. You know it’s a deep draft when playmakers like South Carolina’s Xavier Legette, Washington’s Ja’Lynn Polk and Florida’s Ricky Pearsall aren’t even in the top 10 of the group.
Who are the most likely candidates to get extended on the defense? I’m wondering what we’re going to do with Nate Hobbs. — Jc. T.
I think he is a lock. And Spillane. Malcolm Koonce earned an extension as well.
Should the Raiders wait a year and go after Shedeur Sanders in the 2025 draft? (Ron Chenoy / USA Today)
It’s obviously early, but what are your thoughts on Shedeur Sanders being the Raiders QB in 2025? The kid is obviously talented, and Deion has a relationship with AP, as well as Tom Brady. I personally would be fine with Minshew Mania for a year if it meant we could get Sanders next year. I would be willing to bet players would love to come to Las Vegas to play with Shedeur and AP. — Griffin S.
I think when you have Crosby and Davante Adams (on essentially the last year of his deal) and then give a defensive tackle $85 million, you are trying to win now. Get a quarterback in the first round and hope he beats out Minshew and O’Connell.
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Writers keep identifying cornerback as a huge position of need and advise allocating the No. 13 pick to CB if moving into the top four for QB isn’t possible. It seems to me like the defense is good right now, and Brandon Facyson is good enough for the time being. The right side of the offensive line is in a bad state and it seems like drafting a CB in the first round would be a terrible decision. Agree? — Micah S.
Writers … man, you sold me. A mean offensive lineman at 13 and then trade up for Penix at the end of the first round.
If you take a look at the top quarterbacks’ stats from 2023, you’ll see Bo Nix is at the top of the list in some pretty amazing categories like completion percentage and passing TDs. He’s also second in passing yards. Why is he not getting more love? Do you think he could be a steal for the Raiders late in the first or early second round? — Coach L.
I question his arm strength. But I do realize Nix has the leadership and toughness that Pierce and Telesco both say they want, so it’s not a bad consolation prize.
Why does J.J. McCarthy seem to be rising so quickly up draft boards? I’m not seeing what the league apparently sees. — Jay B.
Because you are not closing your eyes and using your imagination. Teams do it every year with quarterbacks in the first round. And … people in the league lie this time of year. I can’t imagine he cracks the top three.
I have asked you this every time there is a new regime in Raider Nation, so I will have to ask you again. How many drafts/free-agent signings are the Raiders away from not only being a real competitor but also winning our division? — Jim C.
I was going to be Joe Water Carrier and say one cycle, but you had to throw that last part in. The Kansas City Chiefs own the AFC West and had a down year and still won the Super Bowl. My answer is two drafts away. And I am closing my eyes and using my imagination a little bit.
(Top photo of Michael Penix Jr.: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
