NFL rumors: Raiders are putting up the most obvious smokescreen with latest QB visit

The Raiders can’t actually be serious about taking this quarterback in the draft. They’re just doing their due diligence, that’s all.

It’s officially NFL Draft month, which means it’s also the month of rampant speculation, even more so than is the offseason norm. Which rumors are real and which are nothing but smoke and mirrors? One of Ian Rapoport’s latest tweets indicates the Las Vegas Raiders are definitely up to something.

The Raiders are reportedly hosting Kentucky quarterback Will Levis for a visit on Monday. While Levis’s peers Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud are better known for their passing abilities and pocket presences and project to be unquestionable top-5 picks, Levis has entered the chat for….posting pictures of his glow-up ahead of the draft.

His physical attributes coupled with his modest stats have pundits conflicted about Levis’s true value in this year’s slim quarterback pickings, but the Raiders are at least taking a flyer on the big-bodied Kentucky product.

Are the Raiders for real? Will they actually use the No. 7 overall pick to take Levis?

No one is fooled by Raiders hosting Kentucky QB Will Levis for a visit

The consensus gut reaction should be that the Raiders are putting up a massive smokescreen ahead of the draft, and they’re meeting with every top QB prospect by principle and principle only.

Levis is widely considered a tier below Young and Stroud coming out of a weaker program and showing fewer traits that make him desirable in the eyes of QB-needy teams. He’s clearly built different, yet his bulky linebacker-esque figure doesn’t necessarily translate to success at his position, and many around the league don’t believe he’s genuine first-round material.

The Raiders already have Jimmy Garoppolo as their veteran stopgap for 2023 and continue to be connected to rumors surrounding a potential trade to move up the board for a higher-ranked prospect. Staying at seventh overall and choosing Will Levis feels like a waste of a top-ten pick, as if the franchise is shrugging its shoulders and haphazardly going after a young good-ish quarterback because, well, why not?

Rather than take an unproven talent like Levis, Las Vegas may be better off going big or going home, which in NFL Draft terms means trading up or moving back. Whatever the Raiders end up doing, they could still be in for at least one year of instability under center depending on Jimmy G’s ability to stay healthy.

At the end of the day, who are we to say that we know more than general manager Dave Ziegler or head coach Josh McDaniels? The choice to take or not to take Levis is entirely up to the Raiders.