Question: I hear you with the quarterback thoughts, but with so many holes to fill and such a bad track record with early picks (those they got and those they didn't), don't you think they would trade the first pick and maybe pick up an offensive lineman and a quarterback late first round or early in the second round?
- Sean, Sacramento
Answer: Trading the first pick would be ideal for the Raiders to help fill holes on offense. But there has to be a team willing to offer a package worth trading for. A lot of the scenarios depend on how new coach Lane Kiffin feels about Andrew Walter. If Kiffin sees Walter as an NFL starter, a trade would work easier because the Raiders cold trade down further and land a player like Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson. Drafting Wisconsin offensive lineman Joe Thomas, the consensus top offensive lineman, would force the Raiders to move Thomas to the right side or move Robert Gallery back to right tackle. But that would also be a lot of money tied up in two young offensive linemen.
But if the Raiders want a quarterback, the top two players in the draft are JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn. Neither is likely to be on the board after the third or fourth pick. If it looks like trading too far down would cost the Raiders the chance to land a quarterback, staying at No. 1 would make sense.
- Jason Jones
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