Before he went No. 2 overall to the Houston Texans, C.J. Stroud was on the radar of another AFC club leading up to the 2023 NFL Draft.
During an appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show”, ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky stated that the Las Vegas Raiders attempted to get Stroud. Instead, he went to the Texans right after the Carolina Panthers took Bryce Young first overall.
“We know that they (the Raiders) tried to go get C.J. Stroud this past year,” Orlovsky said (at the 9:29 mark of the video below).
Back in March, Jeff Howe and Tashan Reed of The Athletic reported that the Raiders eyed the idea of trading up for the No. 1 pick, but the Chicago Bears’ asking price was “too steep” for them. The Bears wound up trading the top pick to the Panthers.
The Raiders released longtime starting QB Derek Carr, who was then picked up by the New Orleans Saints. Las Vegas then signed Jimmy Garoppolo to a three-year deal, reuniting him with Josh McDaniels.
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And with their first-round pick (seventh overall) the Raiders wound up drafting Texas A&M defensive lineman Tyree Wilson.
Stroud has been the best rookie quarterback thus far in 2023, completing 61.3 percent of pass attempts for 1,461 yards and seven touchdowns without an interception. As for Garoppolo, he has just six touchdowns and a whopping seven interceptions in four contests.
