We are officially entering draft week and the smoke screens and misinformation is at an all time high surrounding the Las Vegas Raiders. Mixed in with reports of bad attitudes from top draft prospects are reports that teams are focusing in on certain players at the top of the first round.
For the Las Vegas Raiders, we are seeing more and more reports that they have identified quarterback Michael Penix as their selection with the 13th overall pick.
At the same time, there are reports that they will not reach for a quarterback and will instead focus on one of the top offensive tackle or cornerback prospects. In many of our mock drafts we have rotated between either of those three positions with the focus on maximizing draft capital in the top 100.
In this mock draft, we are focusing less on trading down to accumulate draft capital and more on simply taking the best player available while also focusing on need. Since our last mock draft, the Raiders have not made any significant signings but have added interior offensive lineman Cody Whitehair to shore up position of need with a player that is familiar with Luke Getsy’s offensive scheme.
We are likely to see a flurry of free agent activity once the draft wraps up next week but for now things are quiet on that front for most of the NFL. We know that the Raiders will likely not address all their needs through the draft but as we said earlier, we are focusing on both best player available and needs in this mock. Let’s jump in!
If you’ve ever watched a sitcom then you are familiar with the “will they or won’t they” concept where two characters seem to be romantically linked but it takes a few seasons for them to finally hook up. In the case of the Raiders and Michael Penix Jr., this budding romance appeared to have started when the star quarterback put on a show at Allegiant stadium in the College Football Playoff semifinal.
Since then, legions of fans have made photoshops of Penix in a Raiders jersey and there have been many reports linking him to the Raiders at 13 or later in the first round with the Raiders trading up to grab him. As far as we know, Penix has not made any explicit statements about wanting to play for the Raiders but we think he would be happy to be drafted anywhere in the top 15 picks.
Some folks may say that drafting Penix at 13 could be a reach as he could be available later in the first round or even at the top of the second. The problem with that thinking is that all it takes is for one other team to fall in love with the young quarterback and draft him before the Raiders get another chance to with a later pick.
When it comes to the concept of reaching for a player in the draft, all that matters is that they perform well and end up being good players. If Penix is lighting it up for the Raiders for the next 5-10 years then no one will care where he was drafted and if the Raiders feel he is worth the gamble then they should just make the move and draft him 13th overall. So even though it is a gamble, which all draft picks are, we make the move and draft Penix with our first round pick in this mock.
