The Las Vegas Raiders entered the NFL Draft with a big question mark at quarterback, but they came out of the draft empty-handed.
Well, as far as quarterback is concerned.
The Raiders ended up selecting University of Georgia tight end Brock Bowers with the 13th overall pick as they watched six signal-callers get taken over the first 12 picks.
Las Vegas currently has second-year player Aidan O’Connell under center and also signed Gardner Minshew in free agency for some competition and insurance, but the team’s quarterback situation is still not exactly enviable.
Nick Shook of NFL.com made note of that in his AFC West draft grades.
While he gave the Raiders an A-minus overall and called Bowers a great consolation price, he said not taking a quarterback was a “missed opportunity” for the club that has made just two playoff appearances over the last couple of decades.
Las Vegas could have traded up to land a signal-caller, but it appears that it did not make much of an effort to do so. Either that, or the Raiders were rebuffed.
They watched as the division-rival Denver Broncos selected Oregon’s Bo Nix one slot ahead of them, removing the last first-round talent at the position off the board.
This after Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce stated earlier in the offseason that Las Vegas would not hesitate to move up in the draft for a signal-caller. He also alluded to not thinking the Raiders found their franchise quarterback just yet, which is not exactly a vote of confidence for O’Connell (although Pierce did give O’Connell some praise).
As of right now, Las Vegas is stuck with O’Connell. The Raiders can take some solace in the fact that the Purdue product ended last season on a high note, totaling eight touchdowns and no interceptions over his last four games. Whether or not he actually has what it takes to be the quarterback of the future in Sin City remains to be seen.
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