The Oakland Raiders quarterback situation is becoming quite intriguing nowadays.  With Carson Palmer now in Arizona with the Cardinals, they brought in Matt Flynn via trade from the Seattle Seahawks to compete with Terrelle Pryor for the starting job.  While the Raiders have many needs, they also decided to draft a quarterback as they selected Arkansas’ Tyler Wilson in the fourth round of the draft this past weekend.  So, will Wilson have a shot at a starting job this season?

Some analysts have said that Wilson will be the best quarterback from this draft class, which isn’t too far fetched based on his college numbers.  In his five years with Arkansas, Wilson threw for 7,765 yards and 52 touchdowns with 26 interceptions.  The Raiders have had a poor history when it comes to drafting quarterbacks, the most recent being JaMarcus Russell, so Raiders fans are hoping Wilson can turn that around.  Wilson seems excited to get started in the silver and black and wants to be a leader on the team as soon as possible, but all in good time.

By drafting Wilson, it’s pretty clear that general manager, Reggie McKenzie, and head coach, Dennis Allen, have little faith in Pryor despite his play in week 17 of the 2012 season where he went 13-28 with 150 yards and two touchdowns against the San Diego Chargers.  Mind you this was his first career start, and he showed poise and leadership on the field.  Pryor is the type of quarterback who can run, but also throw the ball.  Raiders fans are used to hearing, Pryor isn’t ready, but a decision will have to be made with the starting position.  While Pryor may not have an arm like Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, he has been sufficient with his throws and has the ability to run when needed.  He has a 70.8 quarterback rating after the 2012 season which isn’t bad, and based on his limited starts makes it hard to have a solid idea of his talent.

Flynn on the other hand has been in the NFL for six years, but has only made two career starts.  He was with the Seattle Seahawks last season, and lost the starting position to Russell Wilson in training camp.  In his career, Flynn has thrown for 1,083 yards and has nine touchdown passes with a 92.0 rating.  Very small sample size as Flynn has never really been given a shot as a starter, sitting behind Rodgers in Green Bay and losing a spot to Wilson in Seattle, so he is still somewhat unknown.  Some have asked if he could be another Rich Gannon, who turned out to be a great acquisition by the Raiders back in 1999, but that is a big if; not to mention the differences within the teams.  Gannon had established receivers while Flynn with have to work with young, developing receivers.

Now, in comes Wilson, the newly drafted quarterback with high expectations.  Could he be the starting quarterback for Oakland come Week One?  Highly doubtful.  He may be the quarterback of the future, but for now, Flynn gets the start.  They aren’t impressed with Pryor, had to get rid of Palmer, and signed Flynn for a reason.  The Raiders are in serious rebuilding mode and have to find the right chemistry for the team.  Give Flynn or Pryor a shot, before letting Wilson take over.  If Flynn and Pryor are performing horribly then, Wilson may start a few games, but for now, he’ll wait his turn.  Hopefully in a year or two the Raiders will be back to their winning ways and their franchise quarterback can lead them to a Superbowl victory.

So, here’s Flynn’s chance to prove people wrong and show why he deserves a starting spot.  Wilson will have plenty of time to show what he’s got later on with the Raiders when they have a strong foundation built. As for now, they will try to build that foundation and go from there.  All Raider Nation cares about is that commitment to excellence.