Returning Raider Nation’s questions for the week
The Las Vegas Raiders have a date with the Atlanta Falcons in Week 15 on Monday Night Football but at 2-11, the Raiders are focusing on the future over these last four games. As such, this week’s mailbag has a heavy emphasis on the NFL Draft, free agency and any coaching decisions.
Q: Matt, I’ve seen a few of Drew Allar’s games and I’m confident he could be a very good QB at the next level. If he had competent WRs, he would be mentioned with Ward and Sanders in the 1st round. What’s your opinion on trading back and collecting more draft capital and Draft Allar in the 2nd round?
A: I’ll preface this by saying I still need to dive deeper into the quarterback class (first thing on my list once the season ends) and would like to see how Allar plays in the College Football Playoff. But I don’t hate that idea.
I think Allar could end up surprising people and get taken in the first round this April, so there would be some risk in waiting until Day 2. For example, Michael Penix Jr.’s draft stock saw a similar jump last year after he played well against Texas in the playoff.
It might have to be a scenario where they trade back and take Allar in say the middle of the first round and then use the extra capital to build around him instead of the other way around. As I mentioned last week, I like the Penn State product as the QB3 in this year’s draft class and I’m not sold on Sanders or Ward, so I wouldn’t be opposed to that scenario.
Long story short, I’m as high on Allar as you are right now but I can entertain the idea of trading back and targeting him as the quarterback of the future.
Q: I’m confused, everyone says this isn’t a great QB class and that the top QBs this year would be 5th or 6th last year, so why would the Raiders take a QB with a top pick and skip over a top-ranked offensive or defensive lineman or Travis Hunter if they could get a comparable QB in a later round?
A: Part of the answer is it’s impossible to win in the NFL without at least a competent quarterback, so position need forces a team’s hand when they don’t have an answer at the most important position on the field. Personally, I’m all for taking the best player available over a need in the first round, except when it comes to a quarterback.
Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images
The other part of the answer is while Sanders and Ward aren’t great QB1 options compared to previous draft classes, outside of maybe Allar, there is still a steep drop-off in this year’s class. And depending on who you talk to, there’s even a wide gap between the top two guys and Allar.
In other words, while Sanders and Ward leave something to be desired as the top quarterbacks in this year’s class, the logic that the Raiders could get a comparable quarterback in a later round isn’t necessarily true. Allar being a wild card right now, meaning some people think he has Day 1 or 2 talent and others have him as low as QB5, throws a wrench in that plan.
For clarity, my personal opinion is Sanders and Ward are tier one and Allar is tier two with a small gap, but the general consensus is the gap is wider between tiers one and two, if that makes sense.
A: Vinny Bonsignore of The Las Vegas Review-Journal is more plugged in than I am when it comes to the Raiders’ decision-making, and Bonsignore said last week that Telesco will try to trade up if the team falls out of range to draft a quarterback. He also mentioned that they tried to trade up last year (presumptively for Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye), but the picks just weren’t for sale.
It’s hard to answer the second question right now because every draft is different and it depends on what teams are ahead of Las Vegas and how aggressive other clubs are at making a move for a quarterback. But to give a ballpark guess or rough estimate, I think they’ll be able to make a trade as long as they stay within the top 10 picks.
Q: Do you think the Raiders are waiting on coaching decisions before re-signing any of our free agents?
A: That could play a factor as scheme fit could determine a few guy’s fate. But I think it has more to do with Tom Telesco wanting to have a full season to evaluate the impending free agents. Also, the Raiders didn’t have any slam-dunk re-signings heading into the year as Nate Hobbs probably had the best case, but Hobbs has injury concerns that have popped up again down the stretch of this season.
Q: What should Santa bring the Raiders? Might some coal be on that list?
A: I think the team has gotten plenty of coal over the last four months, so hopefully they’ve met their quota and Santa will stop being the Grinch, lol.
I think the biggest present under the desert trees of Las Vegas would be the No. 1 pick. Whether you want the front office to draft a quarterback or the best player in the draft class, obviously, having the first selection accomplishes that goal.
We’ll find out if Raider Nation has been naughty or nice on Dec. 22 in what I’m declaring the biggest game of the year against the Jaguars.
By the way, I know I’ve officially hit dad mode because those Christmas puns came WAY too easy to me!
A: Easier to build a top-10 offensive line and more critical to have a top-10 quarterback. A top quarterback can mask a lot of problems, including a shaky offensive line by getting the ball out quickly, scrambling to avoid sacks and stretching the field to create lighter boxes in the running game.
Don’t get me wrong, having both is ideal, but I’ll take an elite quarterback and a solid to good offensive line versus the other way around.
A: There have been six kickoff returns for touchdowns this year, and we still have four weeks to play, compared to only four last season. Also, there were six returners who had 400 or more return yards last season and there are already nine guys this year with that much and four more have at least 300 yards.
The median touchback percentage for teams is down about six percent from last year, so there have definitely been more returns this year and it’s been more exciting than in the past, in my opinion.
That’ll do it for this week’s mailbag. Thank you all for submitting questions and, as your weekly reminder, if you’d like to have your questions answered in a future column, tweet them at me, @MHolder95, email them to SBPQuestions1@gmail.com or look for our weekly call for questions on the site. The latter will continue to publish on Thursdays.