5 early quarterback options for Las Vegas Raiders in 2024
4. 2024 NFL Draft
As of right now, Dane Brugler of The Athletic has four quarterbacks in his top 25 overall prospects for the 2024 NFL Draft:
- Drake Maye, North Carolina (1st overall)
- Caleb Williams, USC (3rd overall)
- JJ McCarthy, Michigan (16th overall)
- Shedeur Sanders, Colorado (24th overall)
If the season ended today, the Raiders would own the 8th overall pick in the draft, which would realistically put them in range for either McCarthy or Sanders absent a trade up the board, which is entirely possible. Whoever the new GM and head coach end up being in Las Vegas, they will have to make sure that they aren't just spending a first-round pick on a QB just to do it.
Players like McCarthy and Sanders aren't being projected as top-five picks right now, but we'll see as the months progress what NFL teams really think of them.
Whenever you draft a quarterback in the first round, you are sort of committed for at least a couple of years. I just don't know at this point if the Raiders would go after either McCarthy or Sanders in round one as opposed to possibly searching elsewhere for options. You never know.
If they could land one of Maye or Williams, that would obviously set them up for the foreseeable future. The jury is still out on McCarthy and Sanders as long-term franchise guys, but the potential is there.