The Las Vegas Raiders are one of many first main wild playing cards within the 2025 NFL Draft, which begins on April 24 in Inexperienced Bay. In typical Raiders trend, there is no such thing as a actual consensus on what they could do with their No. 6 general decide, however there are a number of intriguing choices for them.
A quarterback, particularly Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, could possibly be in play as a long-term decide to sit down behind veteran Geno Smith for a few years.
They’ve main wants throughout their roster.
However the way more probably, and maybe way more intriguing, possibility is Boise State operating again Ashton Jeanty.
The Raiders have been the favorites to land the highest operating again prospect, and on Friday common supervisor John Spytek was requested about the potential of taking him on the high of the draft, per NFL.com’s Grant Gordon.
Earlier than he might even reply, head coach Pete Carroll advised him to “watch out.”
Spytek then talked in regards to the significance of including elite gamers and drew a comparability to Saquon Barkley’s affect on the Philadelphia Eagles.
“I am gonna watch out about speaking about any particular participant. However, extra broadly to the operating again query, I imply, we simply noticed Saquon Barkley simply change the Eagles in a single yr. Now that they had an ideal crew round him, and it was including an elite participant. I feel once you sit the place we sit, the thought is so as to add elite gamers at any place. I do not attempt to devalue any sure place.”
The Jeanty decide goes to be an advanced one for no matter crew finally ends up taking him within the first spherical.
He’s surely probably the most gifted gamers within the draft, the perfect at his place and was a fully dominant participant in school. There are a whole lot of issues to love about him, and he can completely change an offense and a crew if the whole lot goes in keeping with plan.
The hot button is it needs to be the fitting crew and the fitting offense.
The Barkley comparability really gives fairly a cautionary story for a crew just like the Raiders, and Spytek even unintentionally talked about it in his reply: The Eagles already “had an ideal crew round him.”
Barkley was additionally signed as a free agent. The Eagles didn’t have to make use of a top-10 decide so as to add him into their group.
He was the ultimate piece of their Tremendous Bowl puzzle, not one of many beginning items.
One of many largest causes the operating again place grew to become so devalued lately wasn’t simply due to how quick their careers are. Additionally it is due to how dependent their manufacturing and affect is on the crew and state of affairs round them. They want an ideal line, a powerful passing sport and a great system for the whole lot to click on.
Barkley had none of that when he performed for the New York Giants after they chose him with a No. 2 general decide. As an alternative of getting him be the ultimate piece of their offense, he was the piece they tried to construct round. And whereas Barkley had some particular person success, it was not the identical as he skilled in Philadelphia. The crew success was nowhere near the identical. It was not as a result of he was completely different. The state of affairs was completely different.
It’s a related story with the latest operating again to be picked within the high 10, Atlanta Falcons operating again Bijan Robinson. He’s nice, dynamic and makes a whole lot of performs. However remainder of the Falcons offense is so flawed that it has not but made a huge effect on their offense or their crew success.
Jeanty could possibly be a steal and quick affect participant for anyone within the first spherical. Nevertheless it ought to be a crew that already has many of the different core gamers in place.
Are the Raiders that crew? There ought to be some doubt about that, and the Raiders want to pay attention to that.
