Hill: Raiders must consider trading No. 1 pick in NFL draft

The Las Vegas Raiders just finished a miserable season that secured the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, and it’s imperative they use it to find their quarterback of the future.

It’s unquestionably the most important thing they must accomplish to finally get headed in the right direction.

It has to be done with this pick. But that doesn’t mean it has to happen this year, because the only thing worse than not picking a quarterback would be selecting the wrong one.

Yes, this pick must be transformative for the franchise. It has to play a key role in constructing a foundation for the future.

And if that means the brain trust is sold on one of the quarterbacks in this draft — almost certainly Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza at this point — being the man to stake the franchise’s future on, then that must be the pick.

But the true value of sitting atop the draft board is in the options it creates. The pick must be maximized, and if there is any question about Mendoza, or Oregon’s Dante Moore, being a slam dunk, it would be disastrous to pick one for the sake of picking one because of need.

So a trade should be on the table. Honestly, it has to be a consideration regardless. Why not find out what someone is willing to offer, especially after the wild overreactions coming out of his postseason run?

Plenty of needs

Nobody can credibly make the claim that this team is a quarterback away from being a contender. There are plenty of holes to fill, and there is a way this pick can not only yield a quarterback but also help acquire more high-end talent in future drafts.

How would three first-round picks sound? A move like that, signaling a firm and strong commitment to the future, would mean the team almost certainly would be open to moving other assets, including a certain star defensive end.

Could Maxx Crosby yield two more first-round picks?

A scenario in which the Raiders had seven first-round selections in the next three drafts, including three next year in what figures to be a much deeper quarterback class, is not far-fetched.

It’s unlikely it would work out as well as it did for the Chicago Bears when they traded out of No. 1 for what turned out to be the No. 1 pick the following year. It also would require another team to fall in love with Mendoza or Moore.

But the Raiders would be armed with the kind of arsenal that would make it possible to trade up next year in what draft analyst Todd McShay recently said is a “sensational” 2027 crop that is “shaping up to be potentially one of the greatest quarterback classes ever.”

Picture this hypothetical. Trade down a couple of spots this year with, say, the Arizona Cardinals and also trade Crosby, which potentially gets you an additional first-round pick this year and a total of three next year.

Maybe even get the Cardinals to throw in wide receiver Michael Wilson, as the Carolina Panthers did with D.J. Moore to the Bears.

Take Ohio State star linebacker Arvell Reese to try to find a difference-maker on defense.

Let’s say the Cardinals again finish with a top-five pick next year and the Raiders end up around No. 10 with a third pick potentially in the 20s from whatever contender trades for Crosby.

Package two picks as part of a deal to move up and get two picks in the top five and end up with a dream scenario of a top quarterback and Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.

And just because the Raiders push back the quarterback selection a year doesn’t mean the position can’t be addressed. Go ahead and take a flyer on one later in the draft. Even better, sign a quarterback with upside who could be the quarterback of the future in an ideal situation.

Malik Willis, for example.

Many variables

There are two important things to remember here. This all assumes there is not a quarterback in this class that the organization is sold on. And there is no guarantee the best-case scenario works out.

The Raiders could be passing on a generational player in the hopes that a haul of draft picks can become several stars who create a sustainable winner. All of the picks could end up late in the first round next year and become far less valuable.

It could go terribly wrong. But so could drafting a quarterback who doesn’t work out.

Using the first-round pick on a quarterback is essentially going all-in on one hand. He had better be a superstar or else the franchise could be set back a half decade or more.

A trade gives the franchise far more chances, if nothing else.

It is, at the least, worth considering.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.