The Las Vegas Raiders have been connected in NFL rumors to a variety of trade-up scenarios and several quarterback prospects ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft. With Round 1 nearing on April 25, things might be taking another turn.
In early February, reigning Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels was tied to the Raiders. Not only is the LSU Tigers quarterback one of the best players in the 2024 class, but he also has close ties to head coach Antonio Pierce from their time together at Arizona State.
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Las Vegas explored a variety of trade-up scenarios, seeing if teams like the Washington Commanders (second overall pick), New England Patriots (third overall pick) and Arizona Cardinals (fourth overall pick) would be willing to move down. However, it quickly became clear that the price of moving up was too high.
Soon after, there was more buzz connecting Las Vegas to the second-tier quarterbacks behind Daniels, Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy. There seemed to be legitimate interest from the team’s side, opening the door to the possibility of Las Vegas either moving down from 13th overall or trading back up from Round 2 into the back end of Round 1 to snag their quarterback. Now, neither might be on the table.
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During an appearance on NFL Total Access, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network suggested the Raiders might have to move up for quarterback Michael Penix Jr in the first round. However, there’s still a possibility they could grab him at 13th overall.
“He is visiting the Las Vegas Raiders, that’s an intriguing one because they pick 13th. Could potentially be in the mix for a quarterback and a lot of people have been talking about them as a team maybe moving up. I wouldn’t be surprised if they have to move up only just a little bit, or maybe stay put.”
Ian Rapoport on quarterback Michael Penix Jr, Las Vegas Raiders
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Penix Jr’s draft stock is rising and there appears to be an interesting explanation behind it. While scouts and talent evaluators carry the evaluation process during the regular season, coaches get involved beginning in late January. Now, there’s a buzz of a split on Penix Jr’s evaluation between coaches and scouts.
It still seems likely that the Minnesota Vikings (11th overall pick) will trade up for McCarthy and the team that slides down into their original spot wouldn’t take a quarterback. That would raise the possibility of Las Vegas trading up to No. 11 overall, jumping the Denver Broncos, for Penix Jr. For now, though, it seems likelier that the Raiders would just take him with their original pick.
