It’s been an active offseason for the Las Vegas Raiders, who hit the reset button after another disappointing season in 2024.
One of the team’s biggest additions was quarterback Geno Smith. The team traded for the veteran passer and will reunite him with head coach Pete Carroll.
The team showed some immediate belief in Smith by recently giving the veteran a two-year extension that will keep him around through the 2027 season. However, there’s a potential out in the contract after the 2026 season.
Smith has been a solid quarterback in his career, but he will turn 35 during the 2025 season and obviously isn’t a long-term answer. With that in mind, Lou Scataglia of NFL Spin Zone has the Raiders selecting Penn State quarterback Drew Allar with the No. 7 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Regarding the potential pick of Allar, Scataglia offered the following:
Could we truly see six quarterbacks in the first seven picks of the 2026 NFL Draft? It might just be possible, as teams are getting quite desperate to fix the position. Geno Smith is not fooling anyone and is not a franchise QB – he is only a temporary option, so if Drew Allar is on the board and the Las Vegas Raiders are picking, it would be hard to imagine that they don’t pull the trigger.
As Scataglia mentioned, the top of the 2026 NFL Draft could be loaded with quarterbacks, so the Raiders will have competition if they want one of the passers.
Arch Manning, Garrett Nussmeier, LaNorris Sellers, Cade Klubnik, and Allar are thought to be the top passers, and the Raiders could be interested enough in one of them to give up on Smith.
Allar is an intriguing option, as the quarterback likely would have been a first-round selection if he entered the 2025 NFL Draft. Instead, Allar will spend one more season with the Nittany Lions and look to polish his resume even further.
In 2024, Allar threw for 3,327 yards with 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Allar also completed 66.5% of his passes and led the Nittany Lions to the College Football Playoff.
Much could change depending on how the 2025 season goes, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Raiders select Smith’s heir apparent. If the Raiders really do have a top-10 pick again, it’s probably safe to assume that Smith didn’t have the best year, which could make the team’s decision easier.
