Las Vegas Raiders 2025 NFL Mock Draft: After the first week of free agency the focus shifts to new bigger needs

The Las Vegas Raiders have made a ton of moves the last week or so. Of course, free agency is here, and the first week is now wrapped up. But, even before free agency officially kicked off, the Raiders were getting active in the trade market. Las Vegas traded for Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, […]

Justin Churchill — College Football & NFL Trending News Writer
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The Las Vegas Raiders have made a ton of moves the last week or so. Of course, free agency is here, and the first week is now wrapped up. But, even before free agency officially kicked off, the Raiders were getting active in the trade market.

Las Vegas traded for Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, finally getting the quarterback they have been looking for. And, that dramatically throws a wrench in their plans for the 2025 NFL Draft. But, they see this draft class, especially at the QB position, and they think Smith will be better than anything they will be able to draft in this class. And, that may be a very realistic and fair assessment.

So, how do they address pick No. 1 now? What do they do when the fifth pick is in, and the No. 6 pick is on the clock? And then how do they follow that pick up? This is general manager John Spytek's first time calling the shots in the war room, but this isn't Pete Carroll's. Spytek helped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers build what they have now, and Carroll has won a Super Bowl doing it through the draft.

As of right now, it's very hard to say what will happen, as there are so many possibilities. However, having a week of free agency behind us certainly helps narrow everything down.

Raiders 2025 Mock Draft after Wave 1 of Free Agency

Round 1, Pick 6: Ashton Jeanty, Boise State RB

This has been the most common one, but with what it feels like will take place before the Raiders go on the clock, the only logical things to do are draft Jeanty, or trade back. And, with how bad their run game was last season, and it was historically bad, I can't see them passing on a guy who could be a generational RB, even if he is a bit shorter and has some miles on him. The Raiders need another RB despite having just signed Raheem Mostert.

Round 2, Pick 37: Jayden Higgins, Iowa State WR

The Raiders need help everywhere on offense that isn't the TE or QB position, pretty much. And, now that they have Geno Smith throwing the ball around, I anticipate the Raiders going offense on their two first picks, at least, to help Smith. We saw last year he had the weapons to throw to, but he didn't have time to throw it. This helps give him one of those two needs. They have Jakobi Meyers and Brock Bowers as their two only reliable weapons. Maybe Tre Tucker gets there, but right now he isn't there. Adding Higgins helps.

Round 3, Pick 68: Tate Ratledge, Georgia OG

I seem to be one of the very few people, or the only one, that realizes just how bad the interior offensive line was last year outside of Jackson Powers-Johnson. They haven't done anything to fix that yet. Alex Cappa led the league in every bad stat possible last season, and he's the only piece at the position they have added. They have to get a starting level guard, and let the other side just be the side that has players competing for the gig. Some may think going OG in round three is dumb, but I think it may be too low to go for the position. And, Ratledge is better than what they currently have.

Round 4, Pick 108: Cobee Bryant, Kansas CB

This one is tough because there is a very big possibility that he is not available at this pick, but there is also a chance that he is. Every mock draft simulator I have done, has him available at this pick. Now, that's not the end-all, but it does mean that the consensus seems to be that Bryant is pretty much a fourth-rounder. Grabbing him and developing him along with guys like Decamerion Richardson and others, is going to be huge. Bryant has a knack for getting the ball to hit the ground when targeting the WR he's guarding.

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Round 5, Pick 143: David Walker, Central Arkansas EDGE

The edge position certainly isn't near the top of the list of needs, but it is a need. Just think, there is a chance that Malcolm Koonce, who just signed a one-year extension with LV, isn't back in 2026. There is also a chance that the Raiders finally start to see what Tyree Wilson really is, of no noticeable changes and improvements have been made. They're going to need depth this season, too. And Walker, if he falls this far, which I think he will because of where he played, could be a very good NFL edge rusher. Right now, it's Charles Snowden and David Agoha as the two backup DEs.

Round 6, Pick 180: Zeek Biggers, Georgia Tech DT

Even with Adam Butler re-signed and Christian Wilkins getting healthy again, the defensive line still needs depth. They can bring in some more veterans, but right now, there really isn't any young player at the position who needs developing. They have Jonah Laulu and Matthew Butler as depth, and that's pretty much it. Biggers is a guy they can develop into a starting-level DT.

Round 6, Pick 213: Tyler Shough, Louisville QB

Yes, they traded for Smith, but I still have a feeling that they will attack the draft for a QB, but much later in the draft than they would have if they didn't trade for Smith. Getting Shough, a guy who has been through the wringer and is a bit older, gives you a guy that actually has amazing arm talent. It's everything else that really needs work. And, they can develop him into that, especially after a year or two of sitting behind Smith and Aidan O'Connell.

Round 6, Pick 215: Ricky White, UNLV WR

As we said earlier, they need bodies as weapons for Smith, and White is one of the best WRs in this draft that no one seems to know about. And, he's there, he can play special teams. He led the nation in blocks, punts, or field goals last year. But, he's also a great WR that can be a good route runner and use his spacial awareness at the next level. Now, I'm not entirely sure if they grab another WR, but with White there, I'm not sure how you could pass on him when you couldn't pass at all last year. No pun intended.

Round 7, Pick 222: Karene Reid, Utah LB

The Raiders went and replaced Robert Spillane, who signed with the New England Patriots, with Elandon Roberts, the former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker. So, they don't have a huge need for a starting-caliber inside linebacker, but they do need one. I anticipate that the starters will be Roberts along with either Amari Gainer or Tommy Eichenberg. So, adding another guy to compete for that job and the depth position, who was great in college but dealt with injuries, will be huge.

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