The Raiders finished the 2024 season with a 4-13 record. They were 29th on offense and 25th on defense…and they have the no.6 pick in this year’s draft. Tom Brady is now minority owner, and he’s not used to failure. It is my guess the Raiders won’t be down for long, although Brady does have a tall task ahead of him.
So far this offseason he hired Pete Carroll to be the team’s next head coach. And he signed Geno Smith to be the team’s next QB. Smith is definitely an upgrade at QB, but he’s not a long-term solution. When a team is 29th on offense, they pretty much need help everywhere.
Luckily for them, they actually don’t need any help at TE. Rookie Brock Bowers set records at the position; and could prove to be the best ever. But they need an upgrade from Raheem Mostert at RB, and Jacobi Myers at WR. Each is serviceable, but serviceable doesn’t win Superbowls.
They enter the draft with nine picks, with three inside the top 75. Even though they need more help on offense, being ranked 25th on defense is no picnic either. Aside from needing help at RB, WR, and QB, they need to improve their secondary.
With the sixth pick, they may have an interesting decision ahead of them. Depending on which mock draft you want to believe, QB Shaddeur Sanders will go anywhere between no.2 and no.6. Nobody has Travis Hunter lower than no.5. And Boise St. RB Ashton Jeanty has fallen, to as low as no.12, to the Cowboys.
Brady has actually worked with Sanders and knows him better than anyone, except Daddy Deion. And if he is there, I have a strong inkling that he’ll be the pick. But if both Sanders and Hunter are gone, Jeanty seems to be the perfect fit. They may even be able to drop down a couple spots and gain extra draft capital.
With the no.37 pick, Ohio St. WR Emeka Egbuka could be available to them. He is projected to be an early second-round pick. If he’s available when they pick, he’s the choice. If they need to move up a few spots to snag him, they should. Brady lamented not having a true no.1 WR for the better part of two decades. Egbuka is a true no.1 WR.
If the Raiders aren’t able to get Sanders, they will have an interesting option with their third-round pick, at no. 68. Alabama QB Jalen Milroe is expected to be a mid-third-round pick. He should be there for the Raiders. He’s big enough at 6’2, 220lbs. He has blazing speed and resembles Jalen Hurts’ style of play. And as someone who throws a fantastic deep ball with an incredibly strong arm, he’s the perfect fit for the Raiders tradition of QBs who air it out.
If they can finish day two with their future QB, WR, and RB it will be a successful draft. Jeanty, Egbuka, and Milroe could be a dynamic offensive group for the next decade to come.
