How the Chiefs Influenced the Raiders' first-round draft selection
Everyone in the NFL right now is chasing the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs have won seven straight AFC West division titles. And they've won two Super Bowls in the last three years. Call it a dynasty, domination, or whatever you want — Kansas City is clearly the class of the NFL. The dominance of […]
Everyone in the NFL right now is chasing the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Chiefs have won seven straight AFC West division titles. And they've won two Super Bowls in the last three years.
Call it a dynasty, domination, or whatever you want — Kansas City is clearly the class of the NFL.
The dominance of the Chiefs makes life tough for teams in the AFC West.
Not only are teams like the Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos working hard to improve their rosters, but they're also building their rosters with the Chiefs in mind.
The Raiders, in fact, selected Texas Tech pass rusher Tyree Wilson with the No. 7 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft in part because of Patrick Mahomes (and also Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Hebert, a star in his own right).
NBC Sports' Peter King was in the Raiders' draft room during the first round and he detailed what Las Vegas head coach Josh McDaniels said after the selection of Wilson.
"Our board was right," said McDaniels. "We needed three quarterbacks to go, and we’re so happy we got one of the four non-quarterbacks who were our top-rated guys on the board. Look, we gotta rush the passer. We gotta go get [Patrick] Mahomes and [Justin] Herbert. That’s four games a year for the next few years against these great young quarterbacks. And the AFC is full of these great young quarterbacks. This is a great outcome for us.”
It wasn't just Mahomes that influenced the pick, but there's no doubt he's at the very top of the list of quarterbacks that Las Vegas knows they need to stop.
If the Raiders are going to return to the Super Bowl, they'll have to find a way to get past Mahomes — there's just no way around it. And they drafted a player that they believe will help them beat Mahomes and the Chiefs.
It must be a good feeling for Andy Reid and company to know that they're influencing the draft choices of other teams in their division.
