Report reveals what it would have cost Raiders to acquire No. 1 pick
The Las Vegas Raiders were one of the teams involved in trade talks with the Chicago Bears to land the first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. While the Carolina Panthers won the bidding war, it appears Las Vegas never felt comfortable with the Bears’ asking price.
Chicago seized on an opportunity to take advantage of teams in desperate need of a franchise quarterback. While the Houston Texans briefly checked in on the cost of moving up from the second overall pick, Carolina, Las Vegas and the Indianapolis Colts were three of the teams most heavily involved in negotiations.
The Panthers ultimately acquired the pick, trading Pro Bowl wide receiver D.J. Moore, the 9th overall pick, a 2024 first-round pick and additional assets for the No. 1 overall selection. Not only could Las Vegas not offer a player of Moore’s caliber, it reportedly wasn’t willing to meet the Bears’ original asking price to move down in the 2023 NFL Draft.
According to Tashan Reed and Jeff Howe of The Athletic, the Raiders never made a formal offer, the team did learn what the cost to acquire the first pick from Chicago would have been. And it was steep.
The Bears wanted the No. 7 and No. 38 picks in this years draft, as well as two future first-round picks and another future second-round pick.
Despite the Raiders’ interest in quarterback prospects Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud, the necessary cost to be in a position to draft either signal-caller proved to be too much. Instead, Las Vegas signed veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo as its bridge starter for the 2023 season.
In Sportsnaut’s latest NFL mock draft, Las Vegas trades up with the Arizona Cardinals to draft Stroud. It is possible one of the two top quarterback prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft is on the board, with reports that Carolina is interested in Anthony Richardson.
If the Raiders are unable to trade up for a top-five selection, they’ll likely be hoping quarterback Will Levis falls to them. Otherwise, recent NFL Draft rumors indicate there are some Day 2 quarterback prospects Las Vegas is interested in.
