Mailbag: What quarterbacks would best fit with Chip Kelly?

Answering Raider Nation’s questions for the week

It’s Super Bowl weekend, so we’re creeping closer to the official start of the NFL offseason. Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Raiders have been busy, hiring Pete Carroll as head coach and bringing on Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator along with a handful of other moves. Also, the NFL Draft and free agency are creeping closer and closer, so we’ve got a lot to touch on for this week’s mailbag.

Q: Who do you think are the Top 3 ranked QB options for Chip Kelly’s offense for 2025 out of the available college players and free agents?

A: I can’t say I have a “Top 3” at this point, but what I can do is give a few names to keep tabs on in free agency and the draft. And since I’m not pinning down a Top 3, I’ll be generous and give three quarterbacks in both free agency and the draft. (How generous!)

Will Howard, Ohio State: This connection is obvious since Howard and Kelly just won a National Championship together. Howard took a bit to pick up the offense but we saw how effective he can be in the system during the College Football Playoffs. Also, being in an offense he’s familiar with should help ease his transition to the NFL.

Shedeur Sanders, Colorado: Sanders is accurate, reads defenses well and makes good decisions with the football which would fit well with Kelly’s passing game that uses a lot of levels concepts. The former Buffalo is also a decent athlete to factor into the running game.

Dillon Gabriel, Oregon: Kelly’s offense does like to push the ball down the field, so I’d be concerned about Gabriel’s lack of arm strength. However, he’s one of the best quarterbacks at throwing with anticipation in this year’s draft class which is important in Kelly’s system. Also, Gabriel can tote the rock.

Sam Darnold, Vikings: Part of this is Kelly was known for adding former Pac-12 players during his time as the Eagles’ head coach. So, the USC product will undoubtedly be on the coach’s radar. Schematically, Darnold does well with a heavy play-action offense which Kelly likes to run. Also, Darnold’s always had plenty of arm talent.

Daniel Jones, Vikings/Giants: Bear with me here. Jones can run and has a strong arm to be a potential fit. I can’t say I’d be thrilled or extremely excited if the Raiders’ rolled into the season with him as the starting quarterback. But if Jones was signed to a cheap “prove it” type of contract, I could understand the thinking schematically. I just wouldn’t hold my breath that it would work out.

Marcus Mariota, Commanders: Similar to Howard, the connection here is obvious given that Mariota and Kelly worked together for a couple of years at Oregon. Mariota wouldn’t be a long-term solution, but he could be a decent stop-gap quarterback if the Raiders draft a quarterback.

A: I kind of answered the second question above. As far as the quarterbacks still under contract, Gardner Minshew will likely get cut since the team can create some extra cap space — $6.34 million pre-June 1 or $9.34 million post-June 1, per Over The Cap.

Aidan O’Connell is a little trickier. I could see Las Vegas testing the free-agent market and weighing its options, meaning if there’s a veteran quarterback available at the right price, then the front office tries to trade O’Connell for whatever it can get. But if not, he stays as a backup option with the chance to compete against a rookie for the starting job, again.

Carter Bradley is likely sticking around for another year or training camp, if anyone was curious about Bradley.

Q: Is it a lock the Raiders take Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward if they are available at 6?

Photo by Andrew Wevers/Getty Images

A: I’ll put it this way, I’d be pretty surprised if they passed on either of those two if they fall to No. 6.

Tom Brady has already shown that he wants his fingerprints all over the team by firing Antonio Pierce and Tom Telesco and hiring his guys. I don’t think that stops this offseason, meaning Brady will push for the team to get a new quarterback, and I think John Spytek will want to pick his guy at QB to begin his career as a general manager.

A: Unless I get to sit down and interview someone and get to know them, I stay away from making judgments about their character. I will say that I would have liked to see Sanders show more humility and stay away from some of the antics you mentioned, especially blaming the offensive line. However, I do think the concerns about his character get overblown and plenty of people speak highly of who Sanders is as a person.

Q: Who is your favorite “other” QB in the draft this year?

A: Admittedly, part of it is the connection to Chip Kelly, but Will Howard has grown on me over the last few months. He’ll likely be my QB3 when the draft rolls around. Howard has all the tools to be successful, it’s just a matter of which version of him you’re going to get. The guy who made bad decisions and put the ball in harm’s way at the beginning of the season and against Michigan, or the guy who was lights out in the playoffs.

Q: What would you think about the Raiders taking the Lamar Jackson/Jordon Love route for QB; i.e. trading up into the tail of round 1 for a solid Day 2 QB like Jaxon Dart, Will Howard, or even Jalen Milroe?

A: I don’t hate the idea since getting the fifth-year option can be a valuable tool for extending the Super Bowl window. Also, the Raiders have 10 draft picks and I believe will be getting a couple of comp picks, so they can spare a few to get into the end of the first round.

However, my concern would be that they’d be reaching and thus, overpaying for a second- or third-round talent whereas guys like Jackson and Love were widely considered first-rounders who ended up sliding on draft day.

Then again, I’m not going to fault a team for being aggressive to get a quarterback that they believe can be the future of the franchise. In other words, it’s just a matter of how the organization views the QB3 options in this year’s class.

A: Since I mentioned Howard will likely be my QB3, getting him in the third round would be the best value out of those scenarios. The scheme fit is clear and he’s worth taking a chance on during Day 2 of the draft.

While I did say Sanders will likely be the pick at No. 6 if he’s there, he’s more of a back end of the first-round talent, in my opinion.

A: Ashton Jeanty had a pretty good game against Oregon and the fumbles against Penn State were bad, but he had defenders in his face all night because Boise State was getting dominated up front. I actually thought Jeanty did a decent job of making something out of nothing in that game, so I’m not that concerned about the level of competition he faced.

However, this running back class is too deep for me to feel comfortable with the Raiders using a first-round pick on him or anyone at the position. Also, I have concerns about how much tread Jeanty has left given his heavy workload over the last two seasons.

A: 1. Travis Hunter

2. Abdul Carter

3. Mason Graham

4. Will Johnson

5. Malaki Starks

6. Cam Ward

A: No. I’m not trading the best player on the team to take a chance on a couple of rookies and the hope that Sam Darnold isn’t a one-year wonder. Also, that would create a need for a premier edge rusher. I’ve said it for a while now, I wouldn’t trade Maxx Crosby this offseason unless he wants out and it sounds like he’s happy with the direction of the team.

That’ll do it for this week’s mailbag. Thank you all for submitting questions and, as your weekly reminder, if you’d like to have your questions answered in a future column, tweet them at me, @MHolder95, email them to [email protected] or look for our weekly call for questions on the site. The latter will continue to publish on Thursdays.