The Las Vegas Raiders have positioned themselves nicely for draft weekend.
By trading for quarterback Geno Smith, the Raiders can now turn their attention towards other immediate gaps in their roster. Looking at most mock drafts, the Raiders are near-unanimously projected to select Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty in the first round. Despite the depreciation at running back in recent years, Jeanty makes perfect sense for a Raiders team that struggled to get anything going on the ground last season.
However, a recent mock draft has new general manager John Spytek getting aggressive in his draft strategy, picking up elite prospects at not one, but two positions.
The Raiders end up with two first-round selections after swinging a mock trade.
Unsurprisingly, CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso has the Raiders selecting Jeanty sixth overall.
“With Jeanty in the mix, the Raiders are much more dangerous on paper now than they were a year ago,” Trapasso wrote.
Where Trapasso broke from the standard, however, was what the Raiders did later in his mock draft. Still in the first round, the Raiders make a trade with the Minnesota Vikings that sees East Carolina cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. go to Las Vegas with the 24th overall selection.
“The Raiders jump at the opportunity to add a cornerback of Revel’s size and ball-hawking skill in Round 1,” Trapasso noted. “Without many picks entering this draft, the Vikings will be motivated to move back. In this deal, they net No. 37 (second round), No. 68 (third round) and No. 215 (sixth round).”
The deal is certainly aggressive, but it makes sense for both sides.
The Vikings come in with only four picks in this draft, so they will be looking to add draft capital however they can. Meanwhile, the Raiders have a need at cornerback due to the concerns of their top three options. Jack Jones is coming off an inconsistent 2024, Jakorian Bennett has struggled to stay healthy and Eric Stokes comes in as a reclamation project in free agent.
What the Raiders have to ask in this deal is whether they can still address the cornerback position later.
While there is a drop-off in quality at the position the further down the rankings go, the Raiders can still find themselves a quality cornerback in the second round. Revel is coming off an ACL injury that has prevented him from participating in workouts, so his medical red flags could ultimately slide him over to the Raiders at the 37th pick anyway. Even if that is not the case, options like Notre Dame’s Benjamin Morrison, Kentucky’s Maxwell Hairston and Ole Miss’s Trey Amos will likely still be on the board when the Raiders draft next.
The Raiders would jump at the chance to add a talent like Revel to their defense, but how much is the question Trapasso raises in this mock.
