Oakland Raiders: Is Drafting Geno Smith the Best Option?

The Oakland Raiders hold the third overall pick in the draft, and now that the Kansas City Chiefs will most likely not draft a quarterback since they have traded for Alex Smith, does that mean Geno Smith will be drafted by the Raiders?

[Geno] Smith is projected to be the first quarterback selected in the NFL draft, and the entire league is now questioning how early he will be taken. The Raiders appear like they will stick with Carson Palmer, and still have the fail-safe of playing Terrelle Pryor. The Raiders have plenty of holes to fill, and as impressive as Palmer’s statistics were in 2012, he still couldn’t help the Raiders contend in games.

So, should the Raiders gamble on Smith?

Absolutely, especially if the Raiders like the way Smith looks (as rumored), whether they believe in Palmer or not, he is aging fast. This is the addition to the depth chart Dennis Allen addressed, adding more competition to the quarterback position. This is a weak draft, why not just take the best quarterback available and see what happens?

The draft rankings seem to be shaking up everyday, so the Raiders really need to consider just settling on one player or maybe even trading back to get some picks and play the “hit or miss” game.

Whatever the Raiders decide to do, they need to think long-term and they need to think of what will win them games, because Smith could be a good player that they pass up.