Silver Minings: Raiders trade up for C.J. Stroud in mock draft

We’re getting close to the NFL Draft which means the rumor mill swirling around at an all-time high for the offseason. The latest word on the street is that Alabama’s Bryce Young will go No. 1 overall to the Carolina Panthers and the Houston Texans will take a defensive player, leaving the Las Vegas Raiders in an interesting situation with Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud.

Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal confirmed on The Morning Tailgate with Clay Baker that the Raiders are interested in Stroud, which could put a trade with the Arizona Cardinals on the table for the Raiders. Thus Tommy Garrett of Pro Football Network recently ran a first-round mock draft and sent the Buckeye to the Silver and Black.

3) Las Vegas Raiders (From ARI): C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State

TRADE: Las Vegas sends picks No. 7, No. 38, and a 2024 second to Arizona for pick No. 3

We have our first trade in this 2023 NFL Mock Draft. If C.J. Stroud falls past the Texans, the Arizona Cardinals have the most coveted pick in the draft. The phones are ringing off the hook, and on the other line is Mark Davis.

Jimmy Garoppolo is a lateral move at QB from Derek Carr. Even that assumes his success was not a product of the 49ers’ environment. Although Stroud’s draft stock has taken an apparent hit based on recent reporting, this is a QB-driven league, and the 6’3″, 214-pound QB has all of the traits to be a playmaker in the NFL. In a division with Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert, trading up for Stroud is the best way to close the gap.

What do you think of this trade? Too much, a steal, or just right?

In other Raiders links:

• Dave Ziegler press conference notes: the Raiders general manager addressed the media ahead of the draft and gave the fanbase a few takeaways for Thursday.
• Mazi Smith film breakdown: the Michigan defensive tackle has a ton of potential and a unique physical profile.
• Raiders “comfortable” with work on Jalen Carter: “Jalen, in that regard, was similar to a lot of players in the draft, and we feel very comfortable with the work that we’ve done on him,” Ziegler said via Pro Football Talk.
• Happy birthday Marshawn Lynch!: Beast mode turned 37 yesterday.