At the end of the 2023 season, it was clear that the Raiders needed to at least investigate their options at quarterback, where Aidan O’Connell had won the job and closed out the year but had not knocked off anyone’s socks as a rookie. The Raiders then signed Gardner Minshew to be a bridge quarterback, but the assumption that another rookie quarterback would be added in the draft fell through last month. So now, we do not know whom, exactly, Minshew is meant to be a bridge to.
The first night of the NFL draft was especially bizarre as six quarterbacks went off the board in the first 12 picks, leaving the Raiders in the cold at No. 13.
So, the Raiders have Minshew and O’Connell and … well, we may have to wait until the 2025 NFL draft to answer that. The quarterback talent there is not expected anywhere near the level in 2024, but the Raiders could still be in position to add one, if neither Minshew nor O’Connell proves to be a satisfying option.
Raiders Could Go Sleeper Route in 2025
With that in mind, the Raiders are predicted to Pro Football Network, in its preliminary 2025 NFL mock draft, to add a potential sleeper heading into the upcoming collegiate season: Houston quarterback Donovan Smith, who could challenge the duo of Georgia’s Carson Beck and Texas’ Quinn Ewers as the top quarterback in next year’s draft.
PFN’s Ian Cummings wrote: “Right now, Beck is the runaway preliminary QB1 of the 2025 NFL Draft class, but there are a few under-the-radar prospects in the early-round conversation on my initial board. Donovan Smith is one of them, and in this mock, he heads back home to Las Vegas.
