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Raiders appear destined to spend yet another NFL season in Quarterback Jail – elcajon newson Elcajon News only

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Judging by how it’s gone since he inherited the job, Raiders owner Mark Davis may not be be much more suited to oversee an NFL club’s football moves than I am suited to teach physics at Caltech.

Then again, it’s not all about aptitude when building a football operation.

When it comes to the NFL Draft, there’s a lot of luck involved. And there, Davis’ luck is truly and undeniably rotten.

NFL teams have no control over the quality of the draft class that enters the league every year.

And it seems every time the Raiders lose enough games to receive an upper-tier draft pick, there isn’t a quarterback worth drafting when they get there.

The Raiders got the No. 6 overall draft pick by losing Sunday’s regular-season finale to the Chargers, only to see three other QB-needy, often-bad clubs claim a higher slot.

Not only that, but it sure looks like this QB class is nowhere near as good as last year’s. It might even be well below average, although a few notable developments there are still playing out.

Unless an improbable solution is found, it appears the Raiders will remain in Quarterback Jail for another year.

The better free-agent QBs won’t be excited by a Raiders roster that’s D+. And Davis’ track record with coaching hires (and fires) mean few free agents are eager to start anew in Las Vegas. If the Raiders trade for a passer, it’ll cost them draft capital that may have otherwise helped them get a long-term QB via some draft.

Chargers fans have to love seeing this show repeat itself, contrasting their own team’s draft-timing fortunes.

A poker metaphor applies: The Raiders often get two bad cards to start a game of Texas Hold’em, while the Chargers often get two good cards.

Last year, for example, the Chargers ended up with the fifth pick by going 5-12 in their final season under coach Brandon Staley.

Awaiting them was a very good draft class, whose top prospects got much higher grades from than this year’s upper crust is drawing from former NFL scouts and draftniks with strong NFL ties.

The Raiders went 4-13 this season, but, being the Raiders, ended up with a lower draft slot than last year’s Chargers.

Holding the sixth pick, the Raiders won’t be as fortunate as the Chargers when they held the same slot five drafts ago, bringing them Oregon QB Justin Herbert.

Certainly this year’s QB class appears less promising than last year’s semi-historic group which filled out selections Nos. 1, 2, 3 and Nos.  8, 10 and 12. The Raiders being the Raiders, they won games at the worst time and ended up 13th in the draft lineup.

Tackle is another premium position on offense.

If the Raiders drafted a very good tackle, giving them five years of contractual rights at a key position, it would be a terrific consolation prize.

But it appears no tackle in this class will come close to matching the evaluation grades of Joe Alt, the Notre Dame alum the Chargers took fifth last April. Nor, per the draftniks, are any of the receivers viewed as highly as the pass-catchers who went fourth and sixth overall last year — Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers.

If there’s emerging hope here for the Raiders and others like them, it’s the newly expanded college football playoffs, in which two draft-eligible QBs might add luster to the incoming draft class.

One is Quinn Ewers, who will lead Texas against Ohio State in a College Football Playoff semifinal game this week. Though he hasn’t lived up to outsized and often silly projections he generated in high school, Ewers has done impressive things in recent games. Scouts will be eager to see him Friday.

Drew Allar will quarterback Penn State in the other semifinal. The toolsy junior QB has said he will return to State College for next season, but if he were to build upon his recent improvements and play well against a strong Notre Dame defense, it wouldn’t be suprising for NFL teams to project him as this draft’s top selection. That might give Allar something new to consider.

I wouldn’t expect things to break the Raiders’ way, regardless. Draft conditions outside their control are like Charlie Brown’s trick-or-treating options.

The best treats, such as Philip Rivers and Justin Herbert, are for the other kids.

 

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