The Las Vegas Raiders landed one of the best quarterbacks in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft class and a talented running back. The Raiders went with Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell as their starting quarterbacks and relied on Ameer Abdullah and Alexander Mattison to carry their ground game in 2024. However, the two players that Las Vegas inherited in this projection provide them with upgrades at both slots.
Raiders land Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders with No. 6 pick in latest mock draft
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler constructed a two-round mock draft and had the Raiders selecting Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders with the No. 6 overall pick, saying this to justify the selection:
“There are a ton of mixed opinions in the league about Sanders, and it will be interesting to see how (or if) that changes throughout the draft process once coaches get involved. But with Mark Davis and Tom Brady heavily influencing this pick, I’m not sure the Raiders could pass on Sanders — although, hopefully the new head coach and general manager will have a say in that decision,” Brugler wrote.
Sanders is a special prospect. The 22-year-old owns the highest career completion percentage in Division I history at 71.8 percent. Sanders led the Big 12 with 4,134 passing yards and 37 passing touchdowns in 2024. His accuracy is spot on and his pocket-passing capabilities are as textbook as they come. Sanders also shows adroitness at slinging the football when rolling out of the pocket.
The knock against the Texas native is his lack of a ground game. Sanders netted negative rushing yards in each of his two seasons at Colorado. Nevertheless, the Raiders would get an elite up-and-coming talent whose arm shows no signs of not being able to translate to the NFL level.
Raiders add Omarion Hampton to their running back room in Round 2
Brugler also had Las Vegas taking North Carolina RB Omarion Hampton at No. 37 overall. Hampton is a powerful runner who can turn on the jets with a sliver of daylight. While he’s not the most shifty ball-carrier, the 6-0 rusher led the ACC with 1,660 rushing yards and scored 15 rushing touchdowns last season for the Tar Heels. He could bring that raw talent to the Raiders’ backfield next time out.
