The Raiders have the No. 13 overall pick in this week’s draft and many are expecting the franchise to select a quarterback.
Las Vegas, however, doesn’t necessarily have to do so. In his first offseason as the team’s General Manager, Tom Telesco signed quarterback Gardner Minshew to a two-year deal after he started 13 games for the Colts in 2023. The Raiders also have second-year quarterback Aidan O’Connell ready to compete after he started 10 games for Las Vegas as a rookie.
As Telesco gets ready for his first draft with Las Vegas, he was asked during his Monday press conference if the presence of Minshew and O’Connell would stop the team from looking at QBs in the draft.
His answer was succinct, if not predictable.
“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Telesco said. “[W]e’re drafting for the future, too. Position-wise on this team, we can use help a little bit everywhere. So, I don’t think any position is precluded from being drafted this year.”
If the Raiders are targeting a particular quarterback, there’s a decent chance they’ll have to trade up to do so. Telesco noted the club is prepared for that.
“Yeah, newsflash, G.M. says he’s open to trading up, moving back, picking at [the original] spot. Like, everybody always says the same thing,” Telesco said. “So, yeah, like we have a plan right now to go up if we have to and be aggressive with it. We’ve got a plan if we stick and pick, obviously, and we got a plan to go back if it’s within a certain range.
“It’s been normal this year like other years. There’s been conversation with other teams, but it’s probably more general than specific. It really wouldn’t get more specific until usually like later in the process Tuesday, Wednesday, even Thursday, even sometimes when you’re on the clock. But it’s been about the same amount of work that goes into that.”
We’ll see whether or not the Raiders end up with a first-round quarterback in just a few days.
