The Raiders are in an interesting spot heading into the 2023 NFL Draft. If they are looking for their next franchise quarterback, they could try to trade up to No. 3 to secure the third passer off the board. That would likely be Anthony Richardson or Will Levis.
But they also might want to trade down from No. 7 as they really need to stockpile picks to rebuild their defense. But that likely means they would be missing out on an elite positional player such as Christian Gonzalez or maybe even Jalen Carter.
So what should the Raiders do? Should they trade up for Anthony Richardson? Or should they stay put? According to Bill Barnwell of ESPN, he believes the Raiders have to move down (if possible) in this class.
The Raiders desperately need draft capital. They’re missing an entire generation of homegrown talent from their drafts between 2013 and 2020, a period in which just three of their 29 selections within the top 100 are still on the roster.
(Just two are starters — running back Josh Jacobs and offensive tackle Kolton Miller.) Coach Josh McDaniels arrived in town and immediately dealt his first- and second-round picks in last year’s draft for Davante Adams, adding a star wide receiver but depriving the Raiders of the cost-controlled starters they need to rebuild the roster.
The logic here makes sense as the meat of this draft is on Day 2. The Raiders would be wise to gather as many top-100 picks as possible and invest them into their defense.
But there is a point where trading down too far could be detrimental. This class has about 14-16 first-round graded players and the Raiders need to grab an impact defender (or QB) at some point in Round 1. It will be fascinating to see if the Raiders can orchestrate a trade down in order to acquire more valuable picks in this year’s draft.
