The ideas on how the Las Vegas Raiders should attack the 2025 Draft continue to roll in.
With a roster full of question marks, the Raiders can practically pick a prospect at random and they would fill a need. Between an offense that is little more than tight end Brock Bowers and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers and a defense filled with pending free agent decisions, the team is far from settled enough to know what to expect from the draft right now. As it currently stands, however, most mock drafts have the Raiders selecting a quarterback at six, then choosing the best player available everywhere else.
That mentality leads the Raiders to a desired result in Pro Football and Sports Network’s Joe DeLeone’s seven-round mock draft, where the team selects three long-term building blocks early on offense.
The Raiders kick things off with an ideal board
In the first round of DeLeone’s mock, the board falls in a beneficial way towards the Raiders, as they are able to select Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders with the sixth overall pick.
“The Raiders can’t continue to shuffle quarterbacks, they need steadiness with a high-floor prospect like Sheduer [sic] Sanders,” DeLeone wrote. “The Colorado signal-caller is a cerebral decision-maker with pinpoint accuracy who will hit the ground running with offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.”
Sanders has been linked to the Raiders more times than any prospect, from his social media posts after Raiders losses to his connection with part-owner Tom Brady. The team is in desperate need of a stable presence under center on the field, as well as a magnetic personality off of it to draw fans in. Sanders has both in spades, featuring the accuracy and poise that a Chip Kelly offense demands.
Sanders is far from a perfect prospect, but he stands as a good fit for the Raiders in terms of play style and value.
Raiders go Golden in Round 2
Needing a weapon to develop alongside Sanders, DeLeone decides to select one of the more interesting receivers in this draft class for the Raiders with the 37th pick in Matthew Golden out of Texas.
“After finding the quarterback of their future, it’s time to find him targets outside of Brock Bowers,” DeLeone continues. “Matthew Golden is the most well-rounded receiver prospect in the class, displaying consistent hands, efficient route running, and impact after the catch.”
Golden exploded onto the national scene in 2024 in his lone season with the Longhorns, quickly becoming quarterback Quinn Ewers’ top target. With a fantastic stretch run that saw him put up 29 receptions for 570 yards over Texas’ final six games, Golden comes in as one of the class’s biggest risers. Winning with good route running and playing bigger than his size, Golden stands as a strong complement to Bowers and Meyers.
Having Sanders and Golden together gives the Raiders a fantastic one-two punch in the draft, allowing two emerging talents at prime positions to develop together.
Raiders bring in a Chip Kelly favorite
After selecting Kansas cornerback Cobee Bryant with their own third-round selection with the 68th pick, the Raiders use their extra third-round pick from the New York Jets to bring in Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson.
“This season at Ohio State, Chip Kelly created a surplus of splash plays with TreVeyon Henderson. Now he can recapture that spark by drafting him early in the third round,” wrote DeLeone.
With Kelly now calling plays for the Raiders, it makes sense to build a pipeline with the new national champions. Henderson shook off two injury-riddled seasons and returned to form as an electric playmaker out of the backfield in 2024 for the Buckeyes. While his medical reports and athletic tests will be crucial, Henderson is a great option for a Raiders squad lacking a true playmaker on the ground.
Henderson was a threat to score every time he touched the ball at Ohio State, and being able to continue growing in a familiar scheme will allow him to reach his ceiling quicker at the NFL level.
Three positions the Raiders will focus on at the NFL Combine
Raiders trade up to land franchise quarterback in recent mock draft
