Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud Doral Chenoweth / USA TODAY NETWORK

Raiders trade up for a QB in The Athletic's latest mock draft

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 1/31/23

It’s all but assumed that Derek Carr has played his last down in Las Vegas.

Raiders owner Mark Davis handed head coach Josh McDaniels the keys to the house, and now he’s finally allowed to do some redecorating. In search of a new franchise quarterback, The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner believes the Raiders will be aggressive in finding that guy in the 2023 NFL Draft.

“The price to jump Indianapolis and snag the next-best quarterback on the list (at least as I see it, that’s C.J. Stroud) is going to be expensive,” Baumgardner wrote. “The Raiders have enough to make that work, though. They’re probably overpaying here, but even after giving up these picks, the Raiders still would have a third-round pick, a fourth-round pick and five selections on Day 3. They’d also have a new franchise QB.”

.@MelKiperESPN has C.J. Stroud as the first QB coming off the board pic.twitter.com/XQzLaefjen
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) January 25, 2023

Stroud would give the Raiders an athletic, strong-armed quarterback with great accuracy (he had a 69.3 completion percentage in his two seasons as a starter), speed to get outside of the pocket and a quick and smooth throwing motion.

The 21-year-old signal caller threw for 8,123 yards, 85 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions over the last two seasons at Ohio State. He led the Buckeyes to a 21-4 record and was a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist, a two-time Big Ten Conference Player of the Year and Quarterback of the Year.

Is C.J. Stroud the most accurate QB in the draft? pic.twitter.com/RkBJlh25nX
— PFF College (@PFF_College) January 25, 2023

With Carr expected to be either traded or released, Chase Garbers is the only quarterback the Raiders have under contract for 2023. They’re projected to have more than $20 million in cap space.

In Baumgardner’s hypothetical, he has the Raiders sending the Nos. 7, 38, 142 and 145 overall picks to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for the No. 3 overall pick, leapfrogging the Indianapolis Colts, and drafting Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud.

He also has the Houston Texans drafting Alabama’s Bryce Young No. 2 overall and the Colts taking Kentucky’s Will Levis No. 4 overall. Baumgardner also projects Florida’s Anthony Richardson, the consensus fourth-best QB in the draft class, falling to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 19.

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