Unbelievable: Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce Said Choosing Raiders Was The Biggest Mistake That He Has Ever Made….

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce has talked about being a go-getter and wanting to be aggressive when it comes to finding the Raiders’ quarterback of the future. So, in SB Nation’s mock 2024 NFL Draft, Las Vegas takes a gamble and trades picks 13 and 77 to the Chicago Bears for No. 9 and selects Washington’s Michael Penix Jr.

While the hope is the Silver and Black will trade up into the top three picks to, presumptively, target Jayden Daniels, the Bears, Washington Commanders and New England Patriots weren’t budging. That meant Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Daniels were selected first, second and third overall. Then, the Minnesota Vikings parlayed their two first-round picks into a trade with the Arizona Cardinals to take J.J. McCarthy off the board.

With four quarterbacks taken in the first four picks and the quarterback-needy Denver Broncos sitting one spot ahead of the Raiders, panic started to set in, so a move had to be made. Chicago was willing to move out of No. 9 and all it took was a third-round pick for Las Vegas to secure its quarterback of the future.

Using the NFL draft pick trade value chart, this was a pretty even deal as the Raiders only overspent by five points. A small premium to pay for the most important position on the field.

This pick somewhat defies the odds as well since DraftKings Sportsbook has a quarterback (+275) as the third-highest odds — behind offensive lineman (+140) and cornerback (+175) — for the Silver and Black’s first pick of the draft.

More importantly, Penix is a pick that the late Al Davis would certainly approve of. Davis always had an affinity for the vertical passing attack and the former Husky has one of the strongest arms in this year’s draft class. He’s more than capable of bombing the ball down the field, which is also a big piece of new offensive coordinator Luke Getsy’s offense.

That’s going to be the rookie’s biggest competitive advantage over the two players the Raiders already have at the position, second-year pro Aidan O’Connell and free-agent signing Gardner Minshew. Both O’Connell and Minshew have weaker arms so that, in addition to the sixth-year senior’s experience, gives Penix a chance to start during Week 1 of the regular season.

Also, Penix will help speedy wide receiver and last year’s third-round pick Tre Tucker be a bigger piece of the offense during his second season. In turn, that will help open things up underneath for the offense’s No. 1 and 2 receivers, Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers.

While the Washington product’s accuracy needs work, that’s where having a 6’4.5 tight end who is good in contested catches and has a wide catch radius in Michael Mayer can help.

This might not be the splashy pick that fans want but, at the end of the day, the Raiders get their quarterback of the future in Penix and don’t have to spend a king’s ransom to get him while simultaneously ensuring they keep him away from a division rival.

Barring a massive splash in the 2024 NFL draft, the Las Vegas Raiders will start journeyman quarterback Gardner Minshew next fall. Las Vegas inked Minshew to a two-year, $25 million contract, including $6 million guaranteed. The Raiders moved on from last year’s starter, Jimmy Garoppolo, after an injury-riddled season that resulted in mediocre stats. After violating the league’s drug policy, Garoppolo will serve a two-game suspension to start the 2024 campaign.

Most pundits believe Minshew will operate as a stopgap quarterback, with youngster Aidan O’Connell and a potential rookie waiting in the wings. However, one NFL writer believes that despite posting solid numbers in 2023, Minshew will fail to replicate the same success, resulting in the storied franchise rethinking their quarterback room after the season.