The Oakland Raiders are coming into the 2014 NFL draft with another high pick and this season they will be looking at quarterbacks, including names like Blake Bortles, Teddy Bridgewater or Derek Carr and that means it's likely that Terrelle Pryor or Matt McGloin will be out for Dennis Allen next season after making starts in 2013.
Reggie McKenzie and Allen gave Matt Flynn a chance after trading for him from the Seahawks, but that did not work out and while they like both Pryor and McGloin, neither took hold of the starting job this season and even though they looked good in spots, there is a good chance the starter for next season is not on the roster. The team has a top pick and some extras to deal with after moving down with the Miami Dolphins last season and that could enable the team to move up in the draft with a trade, including for the first overall pick and Teddy Bridgewater from the Houston Texans.
Many experts see Bridgewater as the top pick at quarterback and while the Texans may want him, they also may want to snag some draft picks and then pick a QB later on. The Rams, Texans, Jaguars, raiders and Browns are all in the top 10 and along with the Vikings, those are all teams that could conceivably go quarterback with their top picks. Manziel and Bridgewater are guaranteed first round picks and now Blake Bortles has pushed himself into that group as well and he is a name that the Raiders may look at, as they could get him without giving up a draft pick.
Bortles had a solid season in 2013 and played a fantastic game against Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl and that performance and his workouts could push him into the top five. Many now see him as the second best rated quarterback due to his size heading into the NFL and that means he could push ahead of Bridgewater depending on how the spring shakes out. The Raiders ranked 25th in passing yards per game last season and adding someone like Bortles, Bridgewater or Carr could help transform the offense, as the team can put some free agents together with the $60 million in cap space they have freed up.
Bortles has had two very productive seasons, going for 3,581 yards and 25 touchdowns this season and 3,059 yards and 25 touchdowns last year and it comes after he defeated Baylor by passing for over 300 yards. Bortles went to school with Latavius Murray, a draft pick for the Raiders last season and ESPN.com reports that Bortles got a first round grade before declaring and that could be where he gets picked. Carr is an interesting later option, as he had over 5,000 yards passing and 50 touchdowns this season with just eight picks while completing nearly 70 percent of his passes.