ESPN’s Christ Mortensen reported on NFL 32 that there are rumors circulating around the league that the Raiders have interest in taking West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith with the No. 3 overall pick.
“Word around the NFL is the Raiders have interest in Geno Smith with that third overall pick in the draft,” said Mortensen, via Rotoworld. “Now I can’t get this confirmed by the team, but Geno Smith is a guy that everybody sees as a top-10 pick right now — not everybody — but he’s got a chance to go in the top ten. And if the Raiders do like him, you better take him at No. 3.”
Mortensen added that drafting Smith could result in the team parting ways with QB Carson Palmer.
Oakland is clearly in a best-player-available situation at the top of the draft, but Mortenson probably is correct that they would have a hard time drafting Smith any later than No. 3 overall.
You could make the case that there are close to 15 players worth taking ahead of Smith and all of them fit needs, but NFL teams routinely over-draft quarterbacks, so it seems likely that this trend will continue.
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trade down this is an exteamly deep draft . stock pile picks like 49ers. this draft is crucal to the raiders and can be the longterm goundwork for revamping of the raiders. with all the new and experinced faces working to bring oakland back to relivence, they should make their mark in the 13draft
I think they’re just trying to drive up the price by saying they’d take Geno.
Great point Gavin. You could be right about that, as they could try to shop the No. 3 overall pick if someone ends up showing major interest in Geno in the weeks leading up to the draft. Oakland could clearly use the draft picks.