Raiders Rumors: Tua Tagovailoa to Vegas Has Generated 'A Lot' of Predraft Buzz

The Las Vegas Raiders do not pick until the No. 12 selection in Thursday's NFL draft, but there has reportedly been "buzz" that they could land Tua Tagovailoa, one of the top quarterbacks available. 

Peter Schrager of NFL.com wrote Thursday he has "been hearing a lot of Tua-to-Vegas buzz the last few days," even though he projected the Raiders to select Oklahoma wide receiver CeeDee Lamb in his final mock draft. While Tagovailoa may not be available by the 12th pick, he could become a franchise quarterback to build around for years to come.

Bleacher Report's Matt Miller projected the Miami Dolphins to select Tagovailoa with the No. 5 pick in his most recent mock draft and ranked the signal-caller as the sixth-best overall player available.

Las Vegas may need to move up to draft the quarterback who threw for 3,966 yards, 43 touchdowns and six interceptions during the 2018 campaign—his last full season—even though there are concerns after he suffered a season-ending hip injury in 2019.

The Raiders have a crowded quarterback room with Derek Carr and Marcus Mariota both having extensive starting experience, but there are question marks about both.

Carr is a mere 17-30 as a starter the last three years and appeared to take a step back from a stretch of three straight Pro Bowls from 2015 through 2017. Mariota lost his starting job to Ryan Tannehill last year when he was a member of the Tennessee Titans.

Tagovailoa may need some time to learn under them if the Raiders do select him, but he would likely ascend to a starting role early in his career as the new franchise quarterback.

While Joe Burrow is widely expected to go No. 1 overall to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Raiders may need a team like the Dolphins or Los Angeles Chargers (No. 6 overall pick) to value Oregon's Justin Herbert over Tagovailoa if the latter is going to fall to them at No. 12.

If not, they may have to trade up or select one of the many talented wide receivers available.