All of the trending talk regarding Jayden Daniels has him linked to the Las Vegas Raiders, but is it all just “smoke” or is something on the horizon?
Things have gotten interesting with regard to the Raiders and a potential move to acquire Daniels next week. Daniels has a well-known history with Raiders head coach Antonio Brown. In case you forgot, the Heisman winner was in attendance in the team’s locker room for their regular season finale. If you recall, Daniels also made sure to thank Pierce during his Heisman speech. Obviously, the mutual love and respect are there, which would certainly bode well for a potential relationship in the NFL.
Daniels, for his part, doesn’t seem to be keen on playing for the Washington Commanders, who hold the No. 2 overall pick. The New England Patriots, who own the No. 3 pick, have publicly announced that they’re open for business and considering offers. Look, all of this could end up meaning nothing. In the end, Washington might choose Daniels. The Patriots could just hold onto their selection and go with another signal-caller (or trade down). However, where’s the fun in all that?
The history between Jayden Daniels and Raiders coach Antonio Pierce runs deep…
Despite winning a Heisman as LSU’s starting quarterback, Daniels and Pierce were linked at Arizona State as the latter recruited him. The connection is obviously there; especially when you connect all of the dots. Even still, trading up would require mortgaging the future, so to speak—we’re talking about multiple first-round picks.
The media recently ran with speculation that Daniels wasn’t too keen on Washington hosting multiple quarterback prospects at once. Since then, all of that may have been put to rest, according to Ralph Vacchiano.
Unfortunately, the reunion between Daniels and Pierce that Raiders fans so desperately want might not happen. The fact is, looking at it objectively, general manager Tom Telesco would have to give up way too much draft capital. Picks that could be used to continue building up the defense and assembling an imposing offensive line.
Let’s give Daniel some credit; he’s made it known he wants to be a Raider—in fact, he barely hides the excitement. Sometimes, a player can indeed choose their destination, i.e., Eli Manning saying hell no to the Chargers. More often than not, you play for the team that chooses you; there is nothing else to it. Nonetheless, anything can happen between now and draft night.
*Top Photo: Getty Images
