As Shedeur Sanders continued to tumble down the draft boards, analysts assumed the Las Vegas Raiders would be one of the teams to break his fall.
Despite addressing the quarterback position earlier this offseason by trading with the Seattle Seahawks for Geno Smith, some assumed Sanders would still be a perfect option for a team like the Raiders. Sanders offered a similar scouting report to Smith, and the Raiders were still looking for their quarterback of the future. That never materialized, however, with Sanders going off the board to the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round, while the Raiders drafted Cam Miller one round later.
Experts were curious as to why the Raiders made the decision to pass on a prospect who was linked to them for so long.
An executive has an idea as to why the Raiders chose not to draft Sanders
According to The Athletic’s NFL insider Mike Sando, an anonymous NFL executive presented an explanation to the Raiders’ thought process, mostly connecting to the move for Smith and his relationship with Raiders head coach Pete Carroll.
“My guess is that Pete doesn’t want to do Geno (Smith) the way Atlanta did (Kirk) Cousins,” the executive said, per Sando. “Atlanta was able to do that to Cousins because they didn’t have a previous relationship. For Pete, let’s face it: How long is he going to coach that team? Does he really want to start his last chance by alienating the quarterback he just got?”
Last year, despite signing Cousins, the Atlanta Falcons drafted Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick. While the decision did pan out for the Falcons, it was heavily criticized when it was made. It makes at least some sense why the Raiders wanted to avoid a similar situation.
That said, despite the validity of the argument, there is reason to believe otherwise.
In Carroll’s final year coaching the Seahawks in 2023, he considered drafting Anthony Richardson with their fifth overall pick that year, despite Smith breaking out the previous year. The Indianapolis Colts took him one pick earlier, but Carroll showed he was not afraid to start a quarterback controversy in order to get the best player available. Speaking of Smith, he does appear to have a relationship with Sanders, suggesting he would have been fine mentoring the rookie had the Raiders drafted him.
Something about Sanders and the Raiders just did not click, even though it is unclear what that element is.
