Going into the 2025 NFL draft, there was a strong expectation the Raiders were going to draft a quarterback to groom behind Geno Smith.
Many thought that quarterback would be Ohio State QB Will Howard, but the Raiders passed on Howard with their first sixth-round pick for Ole Miss defensive tackle J.J. Pegues.
Five picks later, the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Howard and the Raiders settled on North Dakota State QB Cam Miller with the second-to-last pick in the sixth round.
Obviously, the Raiders weren’t overwhelmingly sold on Howard, but according to Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter, the Raiders did have Howard a little higher on their board than Miller.
Asked on his daily podcast which quarterback the Raiders would have drafted if both were available, Carpenter said it would have been Howard.
“If they were both on the board at six, they would have taken Howard, yes. But there was not disappointment in getting Cam. I think he’s the player in this draft Raider fans are sleeping on,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast.
“I’m not predicting anything. But when you talk upside, nobody in this draft has his upside… For a six-round pick, that’s a steal. They stole him. I know people had him graded higher.”
Based on Hondo’s comments, it doesn’t sound like Tom Brady and company necessarily had a bullseye on Miller going into that draft. He is obviously a player they liked, but to pass on both quarterbacks with their first of three picks in the fifth round means the Raiders either really like Pegues or weren’t that excited about Miller or Howard.
Either way, it will be interesting to see how both quarterbacks develop with their new NFL teams.
In Pittsburgh, Howard has a clearer path to becoming a starting quarterback, but the NFL landscape can change quickly – especially at the quarterback position.
Miller should get plenty of second half minutes in the upcoming preseason and that detail alone might make their games in August worth tuning into.
x: @raidersbeat