We are less than one month away from the 2025 NFL Draft, and the Las Vegas Raiders will have some big needs to fill.
They filled their biggest need by hiring Pete Carroll as head coach and John Spytek as GM. Then, they checked their next box by extending superstar Maxx Crosby and trading for quarterback Geno Smith. They added some other nice pieces in free agency, and now set their sights on the Draft.
The mock drafts are flying fast and furious, and a good majority of them have the Raiders selecting Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty with the 6th overall pick.
ESPN NFL Draft expert Matt Miller just released his full seven-round mock draft for all 32 teams, and he has the Raiders going in a different direction.
Raiders Add Offensive Weapons In First Two Rounds Of Latest Mock Draft
In the first round, Miller has the Raiders selecting Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan with the sixth overall pick.
“Ashton Jeanty has been the popular pick here in mocks, but have you seen the Raiders’ wide receiver depth chart,” writes Miller. “Pete Carroll and Chip Kelly will want to run the ball, but they didn’t trade a third-round pick for quarterback Geno Smith to have him hand the ball off 35 times per game. The Raiders need receivers more than running backs, and new general manager John Spytek might determine that he can wait and pick from a deep running back class later.”
This has been my argument against drafting Jeanty in the first round. It is nothing against Jeanty, who is a fantastic running back, but the drop-off from him to one of the RBs you can draft later is much smaller than the drop-off in receivers if you decide to wait.
“Receiver isn’t as deep, so Las Vegas should grab McMillan, whose 6-4 frame and ability to win contested catches has won him fans around the league,” Miller continues. “Some point to a lack of separation ability, but McMillan has enough juice to make tacklers miss underneath. That, combined with his physicality and toughness at the catch point, would make him the Raiders’ instant WR1.”
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I am a big McMillan fan and don’t really understand his recent fall. In 2023, I watched him in person torch the USC Trojans in the Coliseum to the tune of 6 catches for 138 yards (USC would win in a triple overtime thriller).
What makes getting McMillan at six even better is who Miller has the Raiders taking with their second pick: Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson.
“New Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly coached Henderson last season and knows what he can bring to the offense as a slashing runner, elite receiver, and top pass protector,” Miller writes. “After passing on RB in Round 1, we’ll reunite Henderson with Kelly in Las Vegas. He’d be penciled in as a Day 1 starter alongside Geno Smith, Bock Bowers, and Tetairoa McMillan to form a fun offensive nucleus.”
Kelly knows Henderson well after winning a National Championship with him just last season. This one-two punch for the Raiders in the first two rounds would be a home run start to the draft.
Below is Matt Miller’s full 7-round mock for the Raiders.
Matt Miller’s Raiders 7-Round Mock Draft
- 1. WR Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
- 2. RB TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State
- 3. EDGE Landon Jackson, Arkansas
- 4. CB Dorian Strong, Virginia Tech
- 5. QB Will Howard, Ohio State
- 6. OT Bryce Cabeldue, Kansas
- 6. OT Chase Lundt, UCONN
- 6. G Hayden Conner, Texas
- 7. WR Da’Quon Felton, Virginia Tech
Thoughts, Raider Nation?