The Las Vegas Raiders walked away from the 2025 NFL draft with a foundational cornerstone on offense. That wasn’t all, though; they addressed the trenches on both sides as well. Looking at the big picture and how many glaring needs were addressed, what grade would you give this incoming rookie class for the Silver and Black?
The fact is, the Raiders needed to make a splash—they needed to draft a player that would impact the team immediately.
The Raiders made a splash at this year’s draft…
Luckily for general manager John Spytek, the decision must not have been too difficult when Ashton Jeanty was still available at No. 6. Say what you will about the running back position, but as we all saw last season, the Raiders’ run game was nonexistent all season long—Jeanty automatically helps mitigate that.
Besides the Boise St. running back, they addressed the lack of depth at wide receiver with Jack Bech from TCU in the second round. Not long after, Spytek chose Dont’e Thornton as additional reinforcement in the fourth round. While Jakobi Meyers figures to be an integral part of the offense this season, things fall off after him. Tre Tucker is fast, but he hasn’t consistently proven much else. Adding Bech and Thornton brings another dimension to Las Vegas.
Even more intriguing was that Spytek double-dipped at quarterback in the sixth round when he took Tommy Mellott and Cam Miller. It’ll be interesting to see how the duo will fit into Chip Kelly’s offense, as they’ll likely be assets in the receiving game themselves. We could end up witnessing the Raiders having their own Taysom Hill and Julian Edelman on the field with those two.
Regardless, please let us know your thoughts, Raider Nation! Please cast your vote and share your thoughts in the comment section regarding Spytek’s initial attempt at the Raiders draft.