The Las Vegas Raiders are an underrated team when it comes to potentially making a big move in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but top prospect Malik Nabers may have shown a light on their plans regarding pick No. 13.
Nabers was on Instagram live with another top prospect and former LSU teammate, Jayden Daniels, over the weekend and said we "are never going to believe" where Daniels will go in Round 1 and that he "might be partnering with an old homie", as he teased the 2,000+ viewers watching the stream.
Antonio Pierce could easily be the guy Nabers is referencing
There's almost zero chance Nabers is referring to San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, even if the latter attended ASU during Daniels' freshman year in 2019. Brock Purdy is clearly the guy in San Fran, so that essentially wipes any thought of that. Although, Aiyuk has been involved in trade rumors, himself, this offseason, so who knows - maybe Nabers knows this destination of both players (although that's highly doubtful).
Regardless, Pierce coached at Arizona State from 2017-2020 and Daniels attended school there from 2019-2021. The Raiders head coach's feelings toward Daniels is already very well-known and documented, so the connection makes all the sense in the world.
Ultimately, it's a better idea for the Raiders to trade back in order to nab a Michael Penix Jr. or a Bo Nix, but if they're serious about making a move up to draft Daniels, then they should do it. When it comes to taking a quarterback it's much different scenario staying at 13 and drafting one of the guys outside the top-4 QB prospects or trading back, as compared to making a huge move to Nos. 2 or 3 in order to get one of the "big four". It won't be cheap, at all, but it'd be hard to blame the franchise for shooting its shot.
Jack Jones, a Raiders cornerback, also played at ASU from 2017-2020. Jones even tweeted out "J5 to da NATION" back in January, so it's obvious he wouldn't mind reuniting with his old teammate. Obviously, Jones has zero say in what the Raiders decide to do, but it's still noteworthy.
Either way, this draft is shaping up to be one of the most memorable drafts, ever. And for all we know, the Raiders could easily play a hand in creating the memories.
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