The Las Vegas Raiders were one of the teams involved in trade talks with the Chicago Bears to land the first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. While the Carolina Panthers won the bidding war, it appears Las Vegas never felt comfortable with the Bears’ asking price.
Chicago seized on an opportunity to take advantage of teams in desperate need of a franchise quarterback. While the Houston Texans briefly checked in on the cost of moving up from the second overall pick, Carolina, Las Vegas and Indianapolis Colts were three of the teams most heavily involved in negotiations.
Related: Las Vegas Raiders draft picks 2023
The Panthers won the bidding war, trading Pro Bowl wide receiver DJ Moore, the 9th overall pick, a 2024 first-round pick and additional assets for the No. 1 overall selection. Not only could Las Vegas not offer a player of Moore’s caliber, it reportedly wasn’t willing to meet the Bears’ original asking price to move down in the 2023 NFL Draft.
According to Tashan Reed and Jeff Howe of The Athletic, the Raiders would’ve needed to trade three first-round picks and multiple future picks in order to acquire the first pick from Chicago.
Las Vegas Raiders’ required trade package for No. 1 pick
- 7th overall pick
- 38th overall pick
- 2024 & 2025 1st round picks
- 2024 & 2025 2nd round picks
Related: Las Vegas Raiders mock draft 2023
Despite the Raiders’ interest in quarterback prospects Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud, the necessary cost to be in a position to draft either signal-caller proved to be too much. Instead, Las Vegas signed veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo as its bridge starter for the 2023 season.
In Sportsnaut’s latest NFL mock draft, Las Vegas trades up with the Arizona Cardinals to draft Stroud. It is possible one of the two top quarterback prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft is on the board, with reports that Carolina is interested in Anthony Richardson.
If the Raiders are unable to trade up for a top-five selection, they’ll likely be hoping quarterback Will Levis falls to them and then develops him for a year behind Garoppolo. Otherwise, recent NFL Draft rumors indicate there are some Day 2 quarterback prospects Las Vegas is interested in.
Related: Las Vegas Raiders’ Josh McDaniels unlikely to be on hot seat in 2023