A proposed trade from Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay sends the Washington Commanders three first-round picks and more from the Las Vegas Raiders for the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The full trade from Kay is a 2024 first-round pick (No. 13 overall), a 2024 second-round pick (No. 44), a 2025 first-round pick (TBD), a 2025 fourth-round pick, and a 2026 first-round pick (TBD). In return, the Raiders would receive just the No.2. pick.
“There will be no shortage of quarterback-needy clubs willing to pay a king’s ransom for the No. 2 slot, Kay wrote in an April 15 column where he proposed one trade for each team picking in the top 10. “While Washington also lacks a franchise passer of its own, it could secure a ton of additional draft capital by passing on the opportunity to draft one this month.
“The Las Vegas Raiders could be the victors of a bidding war if they are willing to ship over Day 1 picks not only in 2024, but also the two drafts that follow. However, that alone might not be enough to get a deal done. The Raiders could need to add the No. 44 overall pick this year and a middle-round pick next year to get a yes from the Commanders.”
The Raiders have an interest in moving up into the top three, according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated.
“The Las Vegas Raiders have had exploratory talks on moving up into the top three,” Breer wrote on March 13.
Trading Back is a ‘Rational Thing to Do’
John Keim’s ESPN column released on March 8 offered his thoughts on what the Washington Commanders can do at No. 2. The options were to stay put, trade back, and trade up. In his trade-back scenario, he writes that the organization is privately using the word “rebuild.” The Commanders understand they need better young players.
Eric Eager of Sumersports told Keim that unless they draft a “unicorn,” the quarterback they draft will struggle.
“[Trading back] is a very rational thing to do,” said Eric Eager, a vice president of Sumersports, which applies quantitative analysis to NFL roster building “Washington doesn’t have that many good players … so you’re probably going to draft the quarterback into a situation that unless he is a true unicorn, he’s going to struggle. And when everybody always cites the stats of ‘Mahomes sat for a year’, well, of course he sat for a year, he went to a good team.”
Commanders Would Likely Lose out On Drafting A Quarterback
Kay’s proposal would assume that the Washington Commanders would have an interest in trading back and likely not drafting one of Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, or Jayden Daniels. Almost every mock draft has them going in the top three.
Keim writes that the 2025 class is not trending to be as good as the 2024 class, which poses another question when it comes to trading the No. 2 pick.
“According to multiple analysts, the 2025 class is not trending to be as good as this one. Of course, at this time last year, while Williams and Maye were considered top picks, Daniels was not.”
The Commanders are hosting Daniels, Maye, J.J. McCarthy, and Michael Penix Jr. on their top 30 visits from April 16 and April 17 at the same time, according to Breer. In ESPN’s latest mock draft published on April 15, Daniels, Maye, and McCarthy all go within the first five picks, but Penix falls to No. 33.
