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With the draft exactly a month away, it’s time to check in on the Raiders’ quarterback position to give it a condition of either Strong, Stable, Unstable, Serious, or Critical.
This team came into the offseason in need of a franchise quarterback in the worst way. After finally pulling the ripcord on the Derek Carr era, they had fiddled around with several different starters, none of whom are the long term answer. The result was two lost seasons and in the same position they were in before. Getting a QB this offseason was priority number one by a wide margin. It was definitely in critical condition.
What's the prognosis now?
With the usual slim free agent market, the Raiders opted for the trade market instead. First they aimed high, trying to land Matthew Stafford in trade from the Rams. That was always a long shot, but one worth taking. Stafford ended up sticking in LA, leading the Raiders to turn their attention toward the next best option. That was Pete Carroll getting his former starter Geno Smtih from Seattle. The price was right, costing them just the late third round pick they got from the Jets in the Davante Adams deal. The result was staying away from the free agent market, including well away from the Aaron Rodgers drama.
Smith's addition doesn't eliminate the possibility the Raiders take a quarterback in the draft. Even at six overall. But it allows them to focus on a top talent at another position at six if they choose to do so and wait until day two or three to take a flier on a project to learn behind Smith. That's a great position to be in.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders Depth Chart: Analyzing the quarterbacks ahead of NFL draft
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Starter: Geno Smith
Backups: Aidan O'Connell, Carter Bradley
This team came into the offseason in need of a franchise quarterback in the worst way. After finally pulling the ripcord on the Derek Carr era, they had fiddled around with several different starters, none of whom are the long term answer. The result was two lost seasons and in the same position they were in before. Getting a QB this offseason was priority number one by a wide margin. It was definitely in critical condition.
What's the prognosis now?
Condition: Stable
With the usual slim free agent market, the Raiders opted for the trade market instead. First they aimed high, trying to land Matthew Stafford in trade from the Rams. That was always a long shot, but one worth taking. Stafford ended up sticking in LA, leading the Raiders to turn their attention toward the next best option. That was Pete Carroll getting his former starter Geno Smtih from Seattle. The price was right, costing them just the late third round pick they got from the Jets in the Davante Adams deal. The result was staying away from the free agent market, including well away from the Aaron Rodgers drama.
Draft projection
Smith's addition doesn't eliminate the possibility the Raiders take a quarterback in the draft. Even at six overall. But it allows them to focus on a top talent at another position at six if they choose to do so and wait until day two or three to take a flier on a project to learn behind Smith. That's a great position to be in.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders Depth Chart: Analyzing the quarterbacks ahead of NFL draft
Continue reading...
