Raiders Predicted to Draft Controversial $11.3 Million Quarterback in Round 2

As head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, Pete Carroll got his team to the Super Bowl, and won it, on the broad shoulders of power running back Marshawn Lynch. In the 2013 season, when the Seahawks went 13-3 then bowled over Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl by a lopsided 43-8 score, Lynch ran for 1,257 yards and led all NFL rushers with 12 touchdowns.

His past success with Lynch was undoubtedly on Carroll’s mind when his new team, the Las Vegas Raiders, used the No. 6 overall pick to select the premier running back in this year’s NFL draft, Ashton Jeanty out of Boise State.

In fact, Carroll announced the pick on his X (formerly Twitter) account by posting a GIF image of Lynch. In the post, Carroll declared himself “fired up” about the Jeanty pick.

The Raiders had numerous other holes to fill in the draft, but in the first round they opted to address the deficiency in their ground game. The Raiders finished dead last in rushing yards last season with 1,357 on their way to a 4013 record. Jeanty rushed for almost twice that many by himself, 2,601, in 14 games at Boise State last season.

Raiders Could Opt For Geno Smith Replacement

Where will the Raiders go next on Day Two of the draft? It would appear that they are set at the quarterback position, acquiring Carroll’s Seattle quarterback Geno Smith in March in exchange for a third-round pick that the Seahawks will spend today.

But the 34-year-old veteran who was a New York Jets second-round pick in 2013 had started only 15 games in the six years before becoming Seattle’s starter in 2022. Now, he is tied to the Raiders through the 2027 season after signing a two-year, $75 million extension to the contract he signed with the Seahawks, and which will pay him $31 million in 2025.

That means the Raiders will need a quarterback of the future, and according to a prediction by NFL writer Joe Rivera of USA Today, they may find that signal-caller in the second round, when the Raiders are slated to pick fifth, 37th overall.

(UPDATE: the Raiders on Friday traded the 37th overall pick as well as the 143rd pick to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for the 48th, 98th and 143rd picks.)

Sanders ‘Most Pro-Ready Passer’ in Draft

Among the numerous surprises on Day One of the draft Thursday, Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders — considered a potential top 10 pick heading into the draft – but perhaps due to his controversial flamboyant personality not only failed to find a home among the first 10 teams selecting, but the 23-year-old son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders fell out of the first round altogether. That, despite throwing for a Big 12-leading 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns in his final season at Colorado.

Assuming Sanders is picked in the second round by the Raiders, his contract is expected to range between $10.4 million and $11.3 million over four years — considerably more than the reported $6.5 million in NIL (name, image and likeness) money he received in college.

But as a first-round pick, even as low and No. 10, Sanders could have received a four-year contract worth as much as $26.64 million, according to the sports business site Over the Cap.

“While Smith signed an extension with the Raiders, Vegas can get out of the deal in a few years’ time,” wrote the USA Today scribe. “That could provide a convenient window to turn the keys over to the most pro-ready passer in the draft.”