One Stunning Move Could Reshape the Raiders — and Shock the Entire NFL Draft #Raiders #joeburrow

One Stunning Move Could Reshape the Raiders — and Shock the Entire NFL Draft #Raiders #joeburrow

Hello everybody. This is Hondo Carpenter, your Las Vegas Raiders beat writer on SI and the host of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast. It’s great to be with you today. We have something fascinating to discuss with you. Going to talk a lot about the about the state of the franchise, looking ahead to Philadelphia and a lot more. But a couple things we want to talk about. Um, first of all, expect Kenny Pekett to be the started starter. Expect Aiden Oonnell to be the backup this weekend. expect. Obviously, anything can change, but that’s expectation. Next though, I got a text today. It was actually late last night. But recently, Joe Burrow, the quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals, who I think is an elite quarterback. I don’t I think the top three uh are Patrick Mahomes, Matthew Stafford, Josh Allen, and and and and I obviously I think Patrick Mahomes is one. I think you could mix up Allen and Stafford based on opinion. I prefer Stafford, but I mean it’s it’s apples to apples. They’re all good. But Joe Burrow talked about the game has to be enjoyable and and I’m not quoting, but I’m paraphrasing. It’s got to be something that he enjoys uh for him to continue playing. Now, remember, this is his sixth year in the league. He came in in in 2020 with Cincinnati. And if you look at the beating he has taken, it’s very similar to what Andrew Luck went through um in Indianapolis. And I got this this last night and then I also had a person tell me that Sher talked about this this morning. Um I didn’t see it, but I want to give him credit if he did. If he didn’t, then I’m giving them credit. Doesn’t matter. I’d rather give somebody credit that they don’t deserve than for someone to think I’m cheating them out of it. Um, but this person last night said, “If you’re the Raiders,” this was an NFL official, “if you’re the Raiders and you’re sitting there with one, two, third pick, one of those picks, and you like Mendoza and you like Dante Moore and you like Tai Simpson.” Again, nobody thinks Tai Simpson is a top of the first round pick. They all think he’s a firstrounder that should go back. None of the people I’ve spoken to thinks Dante Moore is a top five pick. They think he should go back. They think he’s a f They think he’d be picked in the first round, but they just don’t think he’s ready for that high of a pick. They think there’s too there’s too much risk there. Again, it’s not that they don’t think he can be that. They just don’t think he’s worth the risk in that top 10. Mendoza, they think probably worth the risk, but even with him, he’s not ready to start right away. And I had this person at the NFL say to me, “If I’m the Raiders, based on Joe Burrow’s comments, he said, “Soon as the season’s over, I’m making a call to them.” And I’m like, “You want one of these guys? One of these picks?” He goes, “They’re a franchise that traditionally doesn’t like to spend money. There’s a lot committed to Joe. This gets them an early pick to go pick a quarterback, excite their fan base.” And he just told me, he goes, “That’s something.” He said, “The Raiders need to be exploring that.” And he, and this person is a current NFL executive, and said, “If this was my team, I would absolutely explore this. you go get a proven quarterback who’s a top five guy. Now again, I don’t think he’s in the top three, but I think you could make an argument he’s in the top five at that four or five spot. I think you could make a legitimate absolutely top seven, but I would I have him in my top five irregardless or regardless, not irregardless, regardless. The point of the matter is this is something that goes into the thought process or needs to go into the thought process of the Raiders. You you get a Joe Burrow and you instantaneously now you go from questionable at quarterback to elite at quarterback. Elite. Absolutely elite. Then you have those high picks in the second round, third round, etc. You can go do whatever you need to do when acquiring offensive linemen or other positions. And then again, I’m not advocating for this. I think Pete Carroll should return and be in charge if Tom Brady doesn’t want to be in the building and run the team. I think that’s your first thing if you’re Mark. It needs to be Tom. Do you want to run the team? Yes. Okay. Then you got to either be in the building every day or you don’t. All right. I’m not coming in the building every day. All right. Then you’re not going to Pete go do this. But if you decide to move on from Pete because Mark decides to let that happen. you now raise the level of possibility when you’ve got that quarterback. A lot of people think Ben Johnson went with Chicago because of the Raider quarterback situation. I was told it had nothing to do with money. So, there’s a very good chance it did happen because of quarterback situation. I was told by people I respect who know Ben really well that he he he really wanted to stay in the NFC North. He wanted to stay up and compete with Detroit. Um and that that had a lot to do with it as well, but it but he did he took less money to go there. So clearly he wanted to be there and I know some believe quarterback had something to do with it. I’m sure it had something. But again, people I know tell me that wasn’t the primary reason. But it instantly now at the most important position fixes the most important position on your team. Then all of a sudden your off season changes bam that fast to add a Joe Burl. That is a big deal. That is an enormous deal. And I’d love to hear from you guys. Get your opinions and thoughts on it. Uh, I told this guy, I make that move right now. What do you think? And he said, I agree. He told me he thinks it benefits Cincinnati, not benefits them because they get rid of them, but benefits them because of their mentality is, you know, they they like to be a little be on the cheap, not have so much out there. Fascinating to me. That allows Brady to make that big move. He tried to do it with Stafford, tried to do it with Ben Johnson. That allows Brady to make that big move. Something to hang his hat on. That’s a big deal. That’s a very, very big deal. And uh if I’m the Raiders, I’m totally thinking in that direction. Totally thinking in that direction. That would be enormous for this franchise to go. And then then you’re not taking a risk because over half of first round rookie quarterbacks fail. Over half. And man, if you’re picking as high as you’re going to be, it’s a risk. No matter who you pick, I I I like Mendoza. I like Dante. I like Tai. I agree with the analysis I’ve heard, and I have not done as much evaluation as I need to, and I admit that. But at where I sit right now, I I I agree with everyone I’ve talked to. I think Mendoza is clearly number one. I really like a lot of the upside of Dante Dante, but you can’t pick top five on upside. These got to be can’t miss guys. And the problem is there’s enough teams that are quarterback uh light that they’re willing to take the risks. And that’s why you see so many teams back every single year in that top 10, top 15 range. It’s why you see so many that live there Raiders because they take risks because they don’t draft well. because they don’t stick with it. BPA, best player available. It’s, oh, we we got to go get a quarterback. This will buy us a couple of years of freedom. No. If you look back at when the Raiders have had their best success drafting, Rock, when they’ve had their best success drafting, it’s BPA. That is what the best teams do. And I’m telling you, I don’t care who leads the team. I don’t care how bad you need a quarterback. If you’re sitting there with the second overall pick, first overall pick, and you don’t have a guy there that you’re like, “This is an Andrew Luck. This is a Payton Manning. You don’t make that pick if you want to be a good franchise.” But Hondao, what if somebody goes off and becomes a Hall of Famer? They might, but the chances are not that they will. And when you take where you can’t miss with those picks, the higher you pick in the first round, you can’t miss with those. It’s why you see the best teams always at the bottom because they draft well. Now again, we may get into this process in the offseason and find out that there’s a quarterback out there that that that we feel, when I say we, either me in my opinion or Tom in the franchise that they feel is Payton or Andrew Luck or Tom Brady may say that’s me. That guy’s worth that pick. Okay, great. They’re the ones making the pick. My opinion does not matter. But if you’re not sold, if you’re not sold that this guy where we’re picking is that guy, he is a camp miss dude. You trade it away or you and and go get a Joe Burrow or you trade it away and accumulate more picks when you’re a team that has as many holes as the Raiders do. To me, that’s a no-brainer. Uh, we’re going to talk a little bit about Greg Olsen today, but, you know, Kenny Picket has given the Raiders defense some really good in in, you know, looks at the the Eagles offense this week. He’s also given some really good thoughts. I’m I’m playing up there. I’m really looking forward to jumping on the bird and flying over for the game. Uh I I Philadelphia is not a place I suggest people to go to that stadium. Uh if you’re a visiting fan as a media guy, it doesn’t matter, but if you’re a visiting fan, not a place that I think people should go, but it’s it’s crazy and it’s wild and it’s it’s an interesting place. It’s it’s it’s a it’s fun. If you do go, just don’t wear your team colors. I I I I don’t go there as a fan, but I I enjoy the stadium. Beautiful stadium. beautiful part of the country. Got a lot of kin folk. I’m looking forward to seeing a bunch of my kin folk uh up there. I have a an uncle and two aunts that live up there and a bunch of cousins and uh looking forward to that. But giving them insight also big chance of some foul weather, maybe some snow. Man, I’d love to see some snow and uh remind me of home. But looking forward to that as well. But Kenny Picket really brings a lot to the table. Now, I told you I was going to probably have an article Thursday, but since we’re expecting Kenny, which would have been today, but since we’re expecting Kenny to start, I’m going to wait till probably Tuesday for my article about a Kenny Picket um that I mentioned you was coming. We’re going to probably wait till Tuesday on that. Um, but I think it’s very very fascinating. And again, Caleb Rogers continues to I watched the film again today. Just continue to see some more things. I asked a a friend of mine who would have reason to have uh watched the Raider film so you can figure out why, just what he thought of Caleb’s performance. and he was very impressed and uh asked me specifically, this is a friend with another NFL team, why hasn’t he been playing more? And I said, and now you know why we’ve asked that. Very, very uh good question. A couple other things I want to talk to you about real quick is the injury list um for the Raiders because I think there’s something interesting here I want to go over with you. Uh the Raiders um let’s talk about this today. Uh Jamal Adams was limited in practice. Alex Bachmann was limited in practice today. A Jeremy Chin with a back was limited today. Max Crosby limited today. Um, obviously that’s with a knee. Um, Michael Mayer, obviously the ankle injury, had a full practice today. Uh, Jordan Meredith dealing with a foot issue, full practice today. Um, Colton Miller uh with an ankle was limited in practice. Gino Smith uh with his right shoulder did not practice. Uh Ian Thomas with his calf limited. Uh Dante Thornton with his uh with a concussion had a full practice. And Raheem Moert with a knee uh did not practice. So there you go. That’s the update on the later on the latest on the Raiders injury list. And again, I if you’re a Raider fan, I think you are praying that you see as many young players and but I’m I’m really interested in watching Kenny Picket. As you know, I talked to you about this earlier. I got a a a text from a successful NFL coach about that Kenny Picket throw. And if you look, Kenny had two possessions that led to 10 points. So, I think there’s a lot here to watch with Kenny, but if you did not do what I said, go back and watch the play of Kenny’s touchdown to shed. Look at the quick release, the velocity on the football. That’s something you’ve not seen uh around here in a few years. So, go back and watch that. All right. I got an email from somebody that I felt like I needed to address. And this comes to us from uh uh Manuel is his name. Manuel B. And he’s in Garden City or Garden Grove, California. Manuel C. He said, “Hondo, I was fascinated when I read your article about the most Al Davis thing that Mark Davis could do, hiring Gruden. I totally got your point. You weren’t saying that’s what you would do. You You said that you thought they should keep Pete, but if they weren’t going to Tom didn’t want to be in the building, then go hire John.” I got what you were saying. Thought it was interesting. I also enjoyed hearing you on Fox Sports on Wednesday night. Thank you for listening. I’m just curious. I know that you do not advocate Pete going. What are some names that you’ve heard? However, obviously Gruden, you were making a point about doing a Raider thing, but what are some names that you’re hearing? Should they move on from Pete? All right, I’ll give you those names. Robert Salah is the name I’m hearing. This would allow the Raiders to go pick their own offensive guy again. And there you go. But Robert Salah is a great defensive mind that they were willing to pay a lot of money to like they did Chip. Another name is the Giants, Mike Kfka. Hearing about him, the Colts, Jim Bob Cter, heard hearing some about him. The Bills, Joe Brady, Ravens, Todd Mon, he’s very well respected. The Chiefs, Matt Naggie. I’ve heard some about that, but I I don’t see that happening, but I I heard I’ve heard some. Uh the other one, uh Clint Kubak, um is one. Uh and then the other is Mike Lafleur. Uh, he’s the Rams. Now, I’m going to tell you this. I alluded to this the other day. Um, I think there is one current head coach that they could attempt to trade for. That would be a big deal. Not going to get into that right now um because it doesn’t matter. But should they relieve Pete, I will absolutely talk about that at another time. But I have heard that name from more than one person. Um because Tom Brady would like to make a statement. I think Tom I I want to make this clear what I’m about to say. Tom is a winner. Whether you like Tom or dislike Tom, and I don’t dislike, but whether you like Tom or dislike Tom, his career is marked by winning. And when you’re a person who isn’t, and you’re a person, whether you think it’s fair or unfair, who’s getting a lot of criticism, and again, whether you think it’s fair or unfair, he is. and he’s being associated now with losing. You’re going to want to make a big statement to fix it because nobody wants to be associated with that. And that’s reality. And if you’re Nick Sabin says it best, high achievers hate poor performers and poor performers hate high achievers. And if you’re a high achiever and you can’t say that Tom Brady isn’t, even if you hate him, which if you don’t know him, I don’t know how you can hate him. But even if you say you hate him, the man is a high achiever and the man is a winner. He’s a winner. So is Pete, by the way. And so they don’t like it. You think Pete’s excited where this team sits? Of course not. I I would tell you right now 95% of the people in that building are unhappy and and and whether they keep Pete or not, this franchise is going to want to make a statement about winning and they should. So, we’re going to keep it there. I think the best thing that could happen is that the Raiders just come out. don’t lose draft position. I don’t expect them to win. Although, I don’t think Philadelphia is anywhere close to the team they were this year. I think if the Patriots played Philadelphia right now, the Patriots would win and the Raiders have beat the Patriots. Now, you may remember, you can go back, watch the video before the season, I told you I thought the Raiders would win that game, but would have lost if they played in November and December because I knew that the Patriots were going to be better. However, that’s why play your young ones. Play your young ones. And I am banging the bell. Keep Max and Colton out. I know they both want to play. I know it is vital to them that they play. They want to play. If I’m Mark Davis, then I don’t care. love that they want to play. It’s why they are both such good players. Colton the top five left tackle. Max Crosby the best defender in the league and I think a top five player. If M I I said this last night on Fox Sports, if Max Crosby was on a decent franchises team, he would be universally allowed as a best defender and one of the best players in all the National Football League. I mean, when they do the top 100, he would be in the top five. But he’s not on a decent franchise. He’s on a losing franchise that constantly experiences dysfunction and disorder. And that’s where that’s where you’re headed right now. So, this franchise, whether they keep Pete, don’t keep Pete, whether Tom moves into the building full-time or not, they’re going to try to make a statement because nobody wants to be associated with the flop of the last several years. At some point, some point I’m going to get into a lot of this in the offseason. Going to get into it a lot. And there’s going to be a lot of questions, a lot of needs to be a lot of soulsearching with this franchise. A lot of tough questions that they’ve got to ask themsel in the mirror. interesting times ahead. But those again were some other names I had heard. Uh the only those are all coordinators. Um the only other defensive coordinator name I heard was was Mike Schula. uh also of the Rams, but it was at this point I don’t think they would consider I think they would consider a Solomon, but I think they would like to go with offense. And though I think Schula will be a good coaching candidate for somebody, I I would see him down the list on the Raiders if they got turned down some other places. I think he’ll be a good coach, but I this is no reflection of him. I think I just think the way the wish list is tiered, he would be at the bottom of that. But I can think of several franchises that if I was the owner, Mike Schuler would get a call from me immediately. So there you go. That’s the latest information that we have. We’ll see you all again tomorrow. Thanks for listening. Have a wonderful day.

One Stunning Move Could Reshape the Raiders — and Shock the Entire NFL Draft #Raiders #joeburrow