ESPN's Mel Kiper opens the door for Tom Brady's Raiders to go after Shedeur Sanders

The first mock draft of ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper was released on Wednesday. The main surprise from the article? Kiper envisions the Las Vegas Raiders moving up from their 6th position to get Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

Kiper believes that the involvement of new minority shareholder and NFL legend Tom Brady may be enough to get the Raiders to move up to get their quarterback of the future.

“There's a really good chance the Raiders strike out at QB yet again," Kiper wrote. "Minority owner Tom Brady is apparently involved in the process to fix the quarterback situation, and I could see Las Vegas trading up for Sanders or Ward.”

While it is a remote possibility, Kiper cautioned that it might not be feasible. Instead, he has the Raiders taking Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan.

McMillan is the second-ranked receiver on Kiper's big board at #7 overall, behind Travis Hunter. Having traded away Davante Adams in the middle of the season, the Raiders need a wide receiver. However, their most glaring need remains the quarterback position.

The Raiders needed a quarterback heading into last year’s draft. Armed with the #13 pick, they saw an unprecedented six quarterbacks go off the board before they were on the clock. The Raiders eventually selected Brock Bowers, who had an unbelievable season, breaking several rookie receiving records, including Mike Ditka's 63-year-old record for receiving yards by a TE.

However, despite Bowers’ heroics, the Raiders limped to a 4-13 record. They rotated between Aidan O’Connell, Gardner Minshew and Desmond Ridder. None of them have proven to be the long-term solution at the game’s most important position and the Raiders are even more desperate for a quarterback this offseason.

Cam Ward goes #1 overall in this mock draft

The debate for the #1 overall pick held by quarterback-needy Tennessee Titans will likely come down to Miami’s Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders. Despite ranking Sanders above Ward, Kiper projects Ward to the Titans because of the predraft buzz around the quarterback.

Shedeur Sanders projected to go #3 to the New York Giants in the mock draft

Another potential challenge is the difficulty in finding willing trade partners. The top three teams in the draft, the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and New York Giants, could take a quarterback with their pick.

In this mock, Kiper has Colorado teammates Travis Hunter going #2 to the Browns and Sanders to the Giants. Kiper called Sanders falling to #3 'the best fit' for the New York Giants but added that the Giants may need to trade up to get their quarterback.

In New York, Sanders will be paired with last year's first-round draft pick, Malik Nabers, who had a positive rookie campaign despite sub-par delivery from the Giants quarterbacks. However, he would enter an organization where head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen appear to be on the hot seat.

If the draft plays out as forecasted, the Raiders may need to get creative in their quarterback search. Otherwise, they may again risk getting shut out in the NFL draft.