The Raiders are expected to be active in the wide receiver market at some point before next year, but after a 2-0 start, the odds of them landing Ohio State star Jeremiah Smith in the draft are starting to fade.
That leaves the door open to other possibilities, and one name that has come up is Justin Jefferson. A few months ago, Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter said he believed Jefferson could wind up on the Raiders’ radar, especially if the Vikings wideout became open to a change and a reunion with Klint Kubiak.
“I think you wait and let that Justin Jefferson thing pan out a little bit. Nothing’s imminent.
I’m not saying anything is imminent. I just know that there’s a potential that he may want to move on and he had his best play with Klint [Kubiak],” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast in July.
“I think and may have reason to believe that he would be amicable if he were to be moved to be reunited… with Klint Kubiak.”
Jefferson would come with a massive price tag, likely requiring a couple of first-round picks to pry him loose from Minnesota. If the Raiders decide that kind of investment is too rich, Marvin Harrison Jr. might look like a more realistic target on paper.
Harrison, the No. 4 pick in the 2024 draft, has not come close to matching the hype in Arizona. Through two games this season, he has one catch and only four targets. Meanwhile, Trey McBride, Kendrick Bourne and Michael Wilson each have at least 10 targets for the Cardinals, which naturally raises the question of whether Arizona would even entertain moving him.
Carpenter, though, sounded skeptical about the Raiders chasing that idea.
“I think you stay the course,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast.
“If you’re talking about getting Justin Jefferson, oh year, the whole game changes right there for me because he’s already proven. With Marvin Harrison you’re just getting somebody else’s problem… maybe it is a change of scenery [he needs], but you’ve got to get him cheap enough because you don’t know that. With multiple quarterbacks and coaches… I’m also talking based on some things I’ve heard from people that I trust.”
Carpenter didn’t spell out what those things were, but his comments suggested there may be more behind Harrison’s slow start than simple bad luck. That kind of uncertainty could make the Raiders, and other teams, think twice before giving up real draft capital to take the chance.
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