Raiders seen as landing spot for Drew Lock
Drew Lock may not have to wait long in the second round to learn where he’ll be playing next. It sounds like the Oakland Raiders are ready to make the plunge.
The Oakland Raiders weren’t the only team to shock NFL fans on the first day of the draft, but it’s doubtful anyone saw their first pick coming. Now, they may pull a true stunner.
NFL Network’s Gil Brandt reports that Missouri Tigers quarterback Drew Lock is in play for Oakland at No. 35 on the draft’s second day.
If the Raiders draft Lock there, it displays a shocking lack of basic salary cap knowledge. Oakland should have either drafted the Missouri product in the first round or used its second-round choice to get back into Thursday night. Why? The fifth-year option. This isn’t complicated.
Gruden has repeatedly given current starting quarterback Derek Carr his vote of confidence, though some could see that as the “kiss of death” from a decision-maker who had no qualms with trading stars Amari Cooper and Khalil Mack for draft capital last year.
Granted, the Raiders haven’t made any known trade inquiries regarding Carr, though rumors did swirl during the Combine. Recently, Mayock himself admitted that the Raiders could potentially draft a quarterback in the first round.
Although that didn’t happen, the Raiders reported interest in Lock can’t mean good things for Carr. Lock was in the first round discussion despite an uneven college career, and he’d make sense as a second or third-round flier for a number of teams. The Raiders added Antonio Brown, Tyrell Williams, Ryan Grant, and JJ Nelson at the wide receiver position in March, and they drafted Josh Jacobs at running back with one of their late first-round picks.
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If they are souring on Carr and do decide to snag one of the class’s top three-to-five quarterbacks in Lock, then they have added plenty of weaponry around a young quarterback over the next few years. As always, the Raiders are an organization to watch intently, even if only for the sheer wildness of their moves.