The Oakland Raiders' top priority this offseason is getting a quarterback, that is a given. However, the question remains whether they will look towards the draft or free agency to fill the void that has been plaguing the team for the past few seasons. Three different players attempted to start for the team last year and no one really looked the part of a franchise quarterback. While getting a rookie could be intriguing, the Raiders might actually favor the free agent market for an option.
The Raiders have the No. 5 overall draft pick making the decision difficult. The Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns all draft ahead of the Raiders and they will all be looking for quarterbacks. That could easily mean by the time Oakland gets around to drafting, Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater and Blake Bortles could all be gone.
NFL Insider Michael Rappoport is reporting that Oakland is opting to not chase a "franchise quarterback" in the draft and will instead find someone that can be a stop gap for a year. The Raiders will look for a "system" guy to help fill the roster and will then see who is available next season.
This could work or completely fail yet again. As of now, it looks like Matt McGloin has a leg up on the starting spot for next year. Matt Flynn is gone. Terrelle Pryor is likely to be released or traded. Tyler Wilson was on the practice squad. The Raiders are leaning towards bringing in a system player to help develop McGloin and challenge him before making a decision.
Oakland appears to be following the lead of many NFL scouts on this decision. While Manziel, Bortles and Bridgewater all appear very talented, many believe they are not long-term options for any team. IF the draft was deeper, most would only be a second-round draft pick.
The issue is the free agent market is relatively weak in terms of quarterbacks. Most are aging veterans like Michael Vick, Josh McCown and Matt Cassel. Head coach Dennis Allen has good history with Vick during their time in Atlanta and Freeman is familiar with offensive coordinator Greg Olson. Both could be options for next year, but again not long-term.
Allen likes what he sees out of Manziel, but so does everyone. General manager Reggie McKenzie would have to give up a lot in order to get the No. 1 pick to draft Manziel and the Raiders are not looking to make that move. The team could easily acquire a veteran and draft a late-round rookie to see if any option pans out in 2014.
