A busy day of trades and picks
Let’s take a last look at Day 2 of the 2025 NFL draft for the Raiders as they were very busy Friday.
The Raiders traded down twice.
Trader John: First-time general manager John Spytek had traded down twice in the second round. He went from No. 37 to No. 48 in a trade with the Miami Dolphins and then went from No. 48 to 58 in a deal with the Houston Texans.
As a result, Las Vegas ended up with three third-round picks and 11 pick overall (they have six picks Saturday with to in the fourth, three in the sixth round and one in the seventh). The had three top 100 picks when the draft starter at No. 6 (Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty), No. 37 and No. 68. They had have No. 58, 68, 98, 99. on Friday night.
Yes, the Raiders went 52 picks without making a pick spanning the first and second rounds.
Project at cornerback: At first blush, Darien Porter is a classic Pete Carroll cornerback. He is 6-foot-3 and 33, 1/8-inch arms. But he is a former wide receiver had just seven starts at cornerback for Iowa Sate. He was mostly a special teamer. So, he will take time to develop and he may have been drafted earlier than expected. While raw, he is very athletic. But it would be a stretch to think he can compete to start as a rookie. So, Las Vegas still has an immediate need at cornerback. A lot is expected from free-agent addition Eric Stokes and holdovers Jakorian Bennett and Decamerion Richardson on the outside. They had a chance to more established players at the position in the draft, but Las Vegas traded down. It was interesting that the Raiders bypassed more highly rated cornerbacks Shavon Revel (drafted by the Dallas Cowboys) and Nohl Williams (Kansas City) to take Porter.
Working on offensive line late: The Raiders took Texas Tech guard Caleb Rogers at (8 and William & Mary tackle Charles Grant at No. 99. They were considered taking a tackle in the first round. Neither Rogers nor Grant will likely be ready to start as a rookie. Grant could be a possible replacement for Kolton Miller in 2026. Both Rogers and Grant visited the Raiders during the draft process.
Starters? Jeanty and second-round pick, wide receiver Jack Bech of TCU should play a time as rookies. Porter, Rogers and Grant may need time.
QB talk: The story of the draft is the major slide by Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. The Raiders have been speculated as a possible landing spot, but they have already bypassed him seven times. Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who was considered a potential Raiders’ target, went No. 92 to the Seattle Seahawks. Interestingly, that was the pick that the Raiders sent to Seattle for new starting quarterback Geno Smith. The Raiders got that pick from the New York Jets in the Davante Adams trade.
Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel, whose ceiling is considered as a backup, went No. 94 to the Cleveland Browns. The Raiders will likely take a quarterback and could strike in the fourth round. In addition to Sanders, they could consider Texas’ Quinn Ewers or Ohio State’s Will Howard, who won a national championship with Raiders’ offensive coordinator Chip Kelly last season.