Ashton Jeanty Goes to Surprising Team With Top 10 Pick in Mel Kiper Jr.’s New Mock Draft

Andy Nesbitt | Feb 25, 2025

Mel Kiper Jr. has Ashton Jeanty going to the Las Vegas Raiders with the No. 6 pick in his latest mock draft. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Mel Kiper Jr.'s second mock NFL draft of the year came out Tuesday and there were a few big surprises near the top of the board.

The biggest might be former Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders dropping down to the New York Jets at No. 7.

The other stunner happened with the pick right before that one, as Kiper has Pete Carroll and the Las Vegas Raiders selecting former Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, who rushed for 2,601 yards last season and finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Colorado's Travis Hunter.

Kiper knows the Raiders have a need at QB but if they can fill that role in free agency, a stud running back like Jeanty could be a really good fit in Las Vegas.

Here's his breakdown of the pick:

I thought about Sanders here, especially given the link between him and minority owner Tom Brady. It's absolutely plausible. Give it another month, and Las Vegas might even be considering trading up for him. But free agency still has to play out, and any number of available signal-callers could fit into this offense. Sam Darnold might be the answer. Justin Fields could bring upside. Russell Wilson has the Pete Carroll connection from Seattle. So right now, I'm looking at other positions here.

Plus, look at what happened when the Raiders missed out on the QBs last year. They landed Brock Bowers, who looks like a star at tight end. Now they have the chance to add another one in Jeanty and clean up the league's worst run game (3.6 yards per carry in 2024). And speaking of Carroll, remember his background. He leaned on the run game in Seattle for years, and he even used a first-round pick on Rashaad Penny in 2018. Jeanty brings it all -- speed, power, elusiveness, contact balance and vision. He ran for 2,601 yards this past season, and he can make a dent as a pass catcher on top of that. Las Vegas can advance the offense by getting yet another elite playmaker into the fold and looking elsewhere for a more stable QB solution.

The Raiders' offense could look really different next season, especially if they end up with Jeanty. With Carroll now in control, it will be interesting to see if they can put a few disastrous seasons behind them and become a factor in the AFC.

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