Raiders get their competition for Carr

Day one of the legal tampering period and the soon to be Las Vegas Raiders have already signed two players to fill two of their biggest needs. The first signing that hit the media was the signing of LB Nick Kwiatkowski the second was likely the more intriguing of the two signings. Marcus Mariota, the 26 year old quarterback who is a former second overall pick by Tennessee. 

Marcus Mariota is the perfect sort of reclamation project for Jon Gruden, and Greg Olsen behind Carr. There have been numerous reports tying the Raiders to Tom Brady as a potential replacement for Carr, but this move never made sense. However signing a guy like Mariota is the perfect insurance for Carr. It's not an immediate condemnation of Carr as the starter because obviously Mariota was just unseated as a starter. It does give Gruden and company an experienced starting caliber qb to turn to if they do decide to ultimately move on from Carr long term though which is exactly what they needed. 

What I like the most about this move is it allows the Raiders the ability to target other positions with the bulk of their cap space and draft capitol. Heading into the 2020 draft the Raiders have now filled two holes at LB, their vacant backup qb spot, signed a trio of former Cowboys to go with their recent addition to the coaching staff from Dallas Rod Marinelli. If there is one thing Mayock truly believes its drafting best player available and he is doing his best to set his team up to truly grab the best player available. 

If the Raiders stand pat with their current draft choices they are set up extremely well to add several guys who can contribute right away. Currently they hold only 7 picks, but 2 in the first round, 3 in the third round, 1 fourth and 1 fifth. I could see the Raiders either trading down to the later part of the first round to acquire a couple more mid to late round picks, or packaging a couple picks to trade up and give themselves a chance to draft a player like Chase Young, or perhaps Tua?