It happens almost every year. Months of pre-draft evaluation have established a clear top quarterback in the draft class who is projected to be drafted with the No. 1 pick. And then the trade offers come in.
This year, the QB1 is Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, who has long been considered a lock for the Raiders with the first overall selection. That has not stopped teams from reaching out to Las Vegas about trading up, general manager John Spytek revealed on Tuesday.
“We’ve gotten a few calls, and those teams know where they stand,” Spytek said (via ESPN’s Ryan McFadden), an indication that the Raiders have no intention of moving their pick.
The Bears were willing to trade in the No. 1 overall pick in 2023, which resulted in a major blockbuster with the Panthers, who drafted Bryce Young. Among the picks sent to Chicago was Carolina’s 2024 first-rounder, which turned out to be the top pick that year. Again, the Bears fielded calls from teams who wanted to move up for Caleb Williams, but they never seemed to consider another trade down as a real option. The Patriots, who were drafting third, also received interest in their pick with teams looking to draft Drake Maye. Both teams stayed put and are likely thankful they did so.
The jury is still out on Tennessee resisting overtures for the No. 1 pick last year and sticking with Cam Ward. The Giants, who were among the teams who pursued Maye, sent multiple offers to the Titans all the way up until draft day. Presumably, their haul would have been similar to the Panthers’ package in 2023, two first- and two second-round picks.
The Raiders should be able to receive that kind of value this year, especially in a draft class with only one consensus first-round quarterback. Next year’s draft offers a deeper crop of prospects to choose from, and trading the No. 1 pick would give them the ammunition to land a quarterback from that group.
But ultimately, a trade does not make sense for the Raiders. Between their coaching change and roster upgrades, they are positioned to have a much better season than their 3-14 2025 campaign, resulting in a lower first-round pick. With multiple teams targeting quarterbacks in the 2027 draft, it may be difficult for Las Vegas to land their desired prospect. Other teams may not be willing to trade down, and even if they are, the Raiders will have to outbid other suitors. That is a much more complicated and uncertain proposition than simply drafting Mendoza this year and calling it a day.
Spytek suggested that Las Vegas is thinking along the same lines.
“If there’s a player that stands out that we feel it’s not worth losing, it’s not worth even picking up the phone, then we’ll just make the pick,” Spytek continued. “But if it’s a player that we’re not as excited about, or there’s a group of players that we would love to pick from, and we can get value for that, we’re certainly open to listening to that.”
Yeah, Washington and New England received a lot of interest in 2024 and they were never going to trade out either.
Guess it depends on how much they see in Mendoza. If they’ve soured at all and feel next year is a deeper class and Cousins is some sort of upgrade, cough, I could see it happening.
The guy’s already training with a former Kubiak co-worker that Kubiak has known since he was a child. It’s going to be Mendoza. When you need a quarterback, there’s a quarterback above a certain threshold of prospect, and you’re in position to draft him, you don’t wait.
Raiders acquire:
– Jalen Hurts QB
– Ty Johnson DE
– Eagles 2nd round pick (#54)
Eagles acquire:
– Maxx Crosby DE
– Raiders 1st round pick (#1)
Keep AJ Brown, Tanner McKee is not a huge downgrade from Hurts. Trade back from #1 to #3 so the Cardinals can take Mendoza; Eagles take the best OL in the draft, future RT to replace Lane Johnson.
Cardinals acquire:
– #1 overall pick (Mendoza)
– Kelee Ringo CB
– Eagles 3rd round pick (#98)
Eagles acquire:
– #3 overall pick (Mauigoa)
– Trey McBride TE
Raiders get a SB winning QB, expediting the rebuild. Cardinals get their franchise QB and the Eagles address their 3 greatest needs: DE, TE, RT. May sound far fetched, but can we put anything past Howie and the Eagles franchise? Never a dull moment with this team.
I think every team except for Arizona would say no to this. It would be terrible value for the Raiders and basically impossible for the Eagles.
Also, who’s Ty Johnson? The only Ty Johnsons I know are a running back and a receiver.
What would the Steelers offer. I have some ideas
But Oooof’s last reply above dropped the hammer on any idea of the Raiders trading the pick
Look at it this way: the Jets have the second pick and four more firsts between this year and next. The Browns have six overall and another first this year. If the Raiders were actually willing to trade down, they wouldn’t trade down to 21. But they’re also not going to trade down.
Someone’s been playing madden with trade restrictions off
Have not played a video game since 2008 or 2009. Know nothing about Madden these days, just privy to NFL rosters and team needs heading into the draft. Raiders might want to get a ready made guy in there, so could be worth exploring for the teams mentioned.
They signed Cousins to be that bridge guy, not to be caddy to another veteran. That’s leaving out the whole salary cap impossibility for the Eagles.
This time of year, I think it’s a fun take. No harm. You’re not attaching any importance or ego to it. Why not?
Vegas is not doing this.
lol
If I’m Eric DeCosta I probably could resist winding up Spytek by making a crank call 🙂
couldn’t…doh!