Las Vegas Raiders NFL Draft Prospect: QB C.J. Stroud, Ohio State

On Jan 19, 2023

The Las Vegas Raiders are officially moving on from their long standing franchise quarterback Derek Carr, and may have to look into the 2023 NFL Draft to find its replacement.

Raiders General Manager Dave Ziegler and staff will be tasked this offseason to find players to improve a roster that finished with a 6-11 record this season.

If Ziegler does not get his starting quarterback during free agency, expect his staff to select one quarterback in this year’s draft.

Meantime, we’ll be working alongside SI’s Draft Bible to get you the latest information on any potential quarterback prospects that the Raiders may consider drafting.

“We’re going to continue to find players who fit what we look for, and continue to build this team in our vision, and I think we’re going to, at the same time, our goal is to win football games, and our goal for next year is to make an improvement over where we were this year,” Raiders General Manager Dave Ziegler said.

Quarterback C.J. Stroud, Ohio State Buckeyes

All the cards are lining up for Ohio State Buckeye C.J. Stroud to land in the hands of the Silver and Black with the seventh overall pick.

However, it has been noted that the Raiders are not expecting to draft a quarterback in the first-round of this year’s draft.

Their plan is to bring in a win-now veteran quarterback via a trade or free agency and draft one in the later rounds that they can develop.

If it all doesn’t go as planned, drafting one early wouldn’t be a problem, especially with the quality in the first rounds of the draft.

“A mature, highly intelligent, pocket-passer who makes smart decisions, does a phenomenal job of reading through his progressions and understands when to add zip or touch,” Draft Bible said of Stroud.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound quarterback completed 257 out of 390 passing attempts (65.9 percent) for 3,684 yards and 41 touchdowns and six interceptions in the 2022 season.

The 21-year-old Ohio State quarterback led the team back to the College Football Playoffs (CFP) and left an impressive mark after posting 348 passing yards with four touchdowns and no interception against the defending national champs.

“Known as the first one in, last one out, Stroud possesses all the intangibles that NFL decision-makers seek from a franchise quarterback—head coach Ryan Day has praised his work ethic and professional approach to the game on a daily basis,” added Draft Bible.

Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels can get a quarterback he can mold and install his system early on.

Stroud’s quick trigger and pinpoint accuracy, is very appealing to the coaching staff and are ready to win now, but also look into the future of the franchise.

The Raiders may consider drafting a player of his caliber if they do not land their quarterback.

The 2023 NFL Draft is set to begin on Thursday, April 27, with the start of the first round. The NFL Draft will occur at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo., ending with rounds five to seven on Saturday, April 29. ESPN, ABC, and NFL Network will broadcast all seven rounds.

The NFL Scouting Combine is Feb. 28-March 6, 2023, held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. March 7, 2023, before 4 p.m. EST, is the club’s deadline to designate Franchise or Transition Players.