3 Quarterbacks the Raiders Should Target in the 2020 NFL Draft

While the Oakland Raiders have been a pleasant surprise this season, they have now dropped three straight, worsening their record to 6-7 and greatly reducing their chances of making the playoffs.

The team has some promising young pieces, but they could also be in the market for a younger quarterback with upside. While Derek Carr is under contract through 2022, he has been the definition of a game manager in 2019. If the Raiders look to the NFL Draft for an opportunity to start grooming a replacement, here are three college QBs the Raiders could be considering for the future.

3. Kellen Mond, Texas A&M Aggies

Kellen Mond had himself a solid junior season for Texas A&M, and it's still unclear whether he will return to College Station for his senior year. However, if he does declare for the 2020 NFL Draft, he is definitely a name the Raiders can consider thanks to his 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame, big arm and athleticism. Mond has shown year-to-year improvement as a passer at Texas A&M, but probably lacks the full-on upside teams seek when drafting a franchise QB for the future. He would likely come as a value pick well beyond the first round, so he could be an option if the team decides to target defense or a wide receiver earlier in the draft.

2. Jake Fromm, Georgia Bulldogs

If the Raiders were to sell themselves on Georgia QB Jake Fromm, it might not come based on his immense athleticism or arm strength, but rather the intangibles that make him such an intriguing prospect. Fromm has completed 75.1 percent of his passes in 2019, throwing 22 touchdowns with just five interceptions. It should also be noted that he only threw interceptions in two of his 13 games this season, two of which came against the nation's No. 1 team (LSU) in the 2019 SEC championship game. There is a risk that Fromm provides similar style of play to Carr at the next level though, and he did not finish 2019 on a strong note with a dud of a game against the Tigers in his team's biggest game of the year. Fromm has fallen to another borderline first rounder after being projected as one of the top QB prospects at the beginning of the 2019 season, which makes him the lone prospect on this list that the Raiders would have to consider reaching for with either of their 2020 first-round picks. If Oakland passes on Fromm early, the Raiders would almost certainly have to trade up to snag him before their next pick in the third round after they traded their 2020 second-round pick to the Bears last year.

1. Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma Sooners

Yet another polarizing QB prospect, Jalen Hurts finished the 2019 season as one of the four Heisman Trophy candidate finalists as well as one of college football's most popular and exciting players. He could give Oakland more of a dual-threat QB option, which is a trend that has bee producing some of the league's best and most promising new players at the position in recent years – just take a look at his predecessor at Oklahoma in Kyler Murray. Hurts is no Lamar Jackson though, and while he made major strides as a graduate transfer from Alabama in 2019, there are still a lot of questions about his ability to read defenses and excel at the next level. Still, the Raiders are going to need a charismatic, new-age QB to lead their team into the future, and Hurts could very well be that guy, especially as someone who many expect will still be available heading into the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

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