NFL rumors: ESPN concocts Raiders-Jets trade hypothetical with No. 1 pick

The Las Vegas Raiders have the number one pick in the upcoming NFL Draft and are widely expected to take Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza at that spot. Mendoza just finished leading the Hoosiers to a national championship victory, earning the Heisman Trophy award to boot.

However, recently, ESPN speculated on a potential trade that could go down that would see the Raiders trade that pick to the New York Jets in exchange for the second pick and additional draft compensation, albeit with some major caveats.

“… the only way to have a trade out of the first pick make sense for the Raiders would be one of two scenarios. One would be getting offered something they don’t expect at quarterback, like the Ravens deciding to trade Lamar Jackson,” noted Bill Barnwell of ESPN, also referencing “a second scenario in which the Raiders don’t feel quite as enthusiastic about Mendoza as people believe.”

“It’s not the sort of franchise-altering trade that teams typically get if they move out of the top spot, but the Raiders add the first pick of Day 2 and the third pick of Day 3, which offers both the ability to add potentially valuable players and significant trade potential as teams simmer on players they like overnight between rounds,” he added, noting that the Raiders would likely then take Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the second pick.

Of course, this is all very speculative, and at this point, there isn’t any indication that the Raiders are hesitating about picking Mendoza number one, despite their recent free agency signing of Kirk Cousins.

In any case, the NFL Draft will get underway later this month in Pittsburgh.

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