Raiders-Michael Penix Jr. union gaining steam with NFL Draft odds shift

The Las Vegas Raiders may be circling in on Michael Penix Jr. in Thursday night’s NFL Draft. 

Oddsmakers have linked the Raiders to the Washington quarterback for months, but just hours before Roger Goodell takes the stage in Detroit, it appears the pairing is becoming more and more realistic. 

Penix was +300 at BetMGM Sportsbook to be selected by Las Vegas on Monday, the highest odds of any team at the time. 

Those odds have only crept up since then. 

By Wednesday, the Raiders, who currently hold the No. 13 pick, had dropped to +200 to take Penix. 

Now, with the clock ticking toward draft time, the odds on a Raiders-Penix pairing have fallen even further to -110, well ahead of the Vikings (+450), Broncos (+750), and Giants (+750), who are also in the mix for a quarterback. 

DraftKings has Penix’s draft position over/under at 32.5, but there is heavy action on the under (-320), indicating that the Raiders may need to take Penix at No. 13 or trade down in the first round. 

But there is a shot he falls into the second round where the Raiders hold the No. 44 selection – Penix is +240 to go outside the first round. 

Penix had a monster season for Washington, leading the Huskies to a 14-1 record and a national championship game appearance. 

He has a cannon for an arm, but he comes with a significant injury history, setting off red flags for some teams. 

Las Vegas has consistently been rumored to be in the market for a signal-caller in Thursday night’s draft to add to their underwhelming quarterback room. 

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The Raiders are currently roster second-year quarterback Aidan O’Connell and veteran Gardner Minshew, who the team signed to a two-year, $25 million contract this offseason. 

The franchise released Jimmy Garoppolo in March, just a year after the quarterback signed a blockbuster three-year $72.75 million deal with the team. 

Bookies also have the Raiders in the Bo Nix conversation, giving the team the fifth-best odds (+750) to draft the Oregon quarterback.