Raiders GM John Spytek is just over 24 hours away from his first draft as a general manager and there has been no shortage of speculation around who he’s going to take with his first pick on Thursday night.
Plenty of names have been linked to the Raiders in recent weeks and ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler threw out a few last-minute details around two players that could be wearing Silver & Black by Friday night.
The first player he mentioned was Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham, who has been gaining momentum as a possibility with the no. 6 pick in the last few days…
“The Raiders have also been linked to Jeanty, but the Mason Graham connection could be one to watch at No. 6, too. The Michigan ties run deep with Graham, general manager John Spytek and minority owner Tom Brady. And Graham’s lengthy video call with defensive line coach Rob Leonard featured a special cameo: Maxx Crosby. I talked to teams Sunday and Monday that still think offensive tackle (perhaps Texas’ Kelvin Banks Jr. or Missouri’s Armand Membou) will ultimately be considerations for Las Vegas, too.”
After Graham, Fowler mentioned a possible second or third round target for the Raiders at quarterback…
“[Jalen] Milroe is still positioned to be an early Day 2 pick, though I’ve talked to a few executives in recent days who wonder if a team will trade into late-Round 1 for him. ‘I think someone will do it,’ an NFC executive said. The Raiders are on the radar, which would make sense; he could develop behind Geno Smith for a few years.
The upside on Milroe is sizable. I spoke to long-established QB coach Jordan Palmer, who says Milroe checks the two most important boxes for a signal-caller: He’s a competitive learner and a high achiever. Palmer and Milroe have worked over the past year on fluidity and connection to the ground as a passer, which should help his accuracy at the next level.”
Many believe Milroe has the highest ceiling of any quarterback in the 2025 draft, but the quarterback to watch for the Raiders is still probably Ohio State’s Will Howard.
It’s been rumored that new Raiders’ offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has been pushing for Howard since he arrived in Las Vegas, but it’s hard to know where the Raiders would need to pounce on his in the draft.
Howard could be drafted anywhere from round two to round five, and the sweet spot for the Raiders to get him is probably round three, or possibly round four if they are lucky.
The quarterback the Raiders probably won’t be drafting, though, is Shedeur Sanders.
There have been a multitude of unflattering reports around Sanders in recent weeks, with one of the most eye-opening coming on Tuesday from the NFL’s own media arm.
At this point, the information coming out around Sanders doesn’t feel like posturing for the draft. Without question, there is a long list of teams not comfortable with him for a wide range of reasons.
x: @raidersbeat
The 2 boxes he says cornrow checks are the same two AOC has checked his entire life. lol
The Raiders have too many racist MAGGOTS in their fan base 🙄
Jay, just so you fully understand, I hate everybody equally. Humanity has become a bunch of self absorbed, ignorant fools. Welcome to the party.
No Milroe, that would be stupid!
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The Raiders have too many racist MAGGOTS in their fan base 🙄