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According to Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com, the Raiders have struck a deal with the Seattle Seahawks that will send quarterback Matt Flynn to Oakland for a "late round" pick in 2014 and a conditional pick in 2015. Once again, the Raiders will be trying to start over with a different quarterback.
Reports had been circulating in the past week that Flynn was likely going to end up in Jacksonville, but the Jaguars pulled away from any trade negotiations. Then, reports seemed to indicate that Flynn would likely be with the Raiders. Now that Flynn has a new home and presumably a starting role, we have to consider the implications the deal has on the draft.
The first quarterback needy team in the draft is still the Jaguars. The Jaguars have indicated they will have an open quarterback competition, and the best man will be their starter. That seems to imply that they won't be drafting Geno Smith with the second overall pick. When a team takes a quarterback so high in the draft, it's implied that he'll be the starter in short order.
The next team that may take a shot at Smith could be the Arizona Cardinals with the seventh overall pick. Without any legitimate starting options on their roster, the Cardinals will certainly be picking a quarterback in the draft, and if Smith falls to them, don't be surprised if they snap him up.
Finally, if the Cardinals go a different route, the Bills and the Jets draft in the eighth and ninth draft positions respectively. It's hard to imagine either of those teams passing on Geno Smith.
With so many doubts about Geno Smith as a top passer, it seems very unlikely that he'll slide outside of the top ten in the draft simply because there are so many teams looking for their guy to take snaps.
