NFL Draft analyst reveals Raiders' sneaky best pick (and it's not Ashton Jeanty)

It's hard to beat the vibes in Las Vegas right now.

The temperatures are rising, the pools are opening, and Ashton Jeanty is the Raiders' starting running back. After a few years of stumbling around as one of the league's most directionless teams, the Raiders – thanks in major part to Pete Carroll and John Spytek – seem to have figured something out. There's a competency to their decision making that could not be more refreshing.

Case in point? The Raiders draft class. Not only was Carroll's first draft in Vegas an overwhelming success for the Raiders, but it was widely considered one of the best drafts across the entire league. Jeanty is obviously the headline, but as NFL.com's deputy editor of written content points out in a new list of draft grades, the best pick may have been someone they waited all the way until Saturday to get. It's the type of opinon that would seem super annoying and forced if it wasn't about the Raiders, which is to say that it's the best type of opinion. Here's what he says.

Tommy Mellott named the Raiders' 'sleeper' pick for 2025 NFL Draft

"Did anyone have more fun with this draft than the Raiders? ... On Saturday, the Raiders fully let their freak flag fly, picking up a 6-5 wideout with 4.30 speed (Dont'e Thornton Jr.), a 309-pound defensive tackle who ran for seven touchdowns last season (JJ Pegues) and an FCS star who’s transitioning from quarterback to receiver (Tommy Mellott). Are you not entertained?!? After quarterbacking the Bobcats to the FCS national championship game and winning the Walter Payton Award as the most outstanding offensive player in that subdivision of football, Mellott decided to train for the draft as a wide receiver. Then he ran a reported 4.39 40, jumped 41 inches ... and here we are!"

It's not particularly surprising that everyone's falling head-over-heels for a QB-turned-WR, mostly because that's what happens every single time someone tries it. Does it always work? No. Does it sometimes work? Barely. I mean, these teams somehow delude themselves into thinking it might, but ... But it might work for the Raiders.