Heading into the 2025 NFL Draft, the Las Vegas Raiders are getting heavily linked to Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty. While he’s considered one of the best running back prospects in recent years, this is considered a deep class at the position.
The Raiders also have just as big of a need for a wide receiver and a cornerback. The problem is that there might only be one worth taking in the top-six picks and that’s Colorado hybrid star Travis Hunter.
However, there’s almost no chance he’ll fall to the Raiders at No. 6. If Las Vegas likes him and wants to draft him, they’ll have to trade up. Luckily, that might not be impossible.
Rhett Lewis of NFL.com predicted a trade in a recent mock draft that would have the Raiders deal with the Cleveland Browns to move up to No. 2. With the second pick, Las Vegas would land Hunter.
“I’ve never made a mock trade before this one, but we’ve never seen a player like Hunter, who registers as the draft’s top prospect at both receiver and cornerback,” Lewis wrote in an April 8 mock draft. “It just so happens that those two positions are two of the Raiders’ biggest needs, so they aggressively move up to secure a two-for-one with this pick.”
Should Raiders Trade for Hunter?
The Raiders just released starting cornerback Jack Jones so their need at cornerback is even greater. A creative offensive mind like Chip Kelly has to be salivating at the idea of landing a playmaker like Hunter.
There’s a lot of debate regarding which position Hunter should play in the NFL but the Raiders coaching staff is creative enough to figure out how to make him have an impact on both sides of the ball. It’s unlikely he’d be a WR1 for the Raiders. The need at cornerback is too great and it’s easier to have him come in for certain offensive packages.
Regardless, he’d be the perfect player for the Raiders to land in the draft.
Charles Woodson Thinks Hunter Is a DB
They aren’t the same player but the former player who Hunter has often been compared to is Charles Woodson. The Raiders legend was the last defensive back to win the Heisman before Hunter did it last year.
He also occasionally played on offense but not to the extent that Hunter did. Woodson is very impressed with Hunter but believes he should start on the defensive side of the ball at the NFL level.
“The most impressive thing is to me is not the amount of plays that (Hunter) played; it’s the impact that he made while he was in the game,” Woodson said on a recent episode of “The Rush.” “He made plays. He wasn’t just a guy out there racking up a whole bunch of reps. He was causing game-changing fumbles, always in the right position. Then turn right around and go do it on offense.
“At the next level, when you got a guy with that amount of talent, you can’t just have him sitting on the sideline. What I believe they should do is — he’s a defensive player. He’s a defensive back. He’ll start there. … But you’re gonna have packages on offense for him.”
