Raiders Had a Major Competitor for Ashton Jeanty

The Las Vegas Raiders used the NFL Draft to address nearly all their most pressing roster needs. While the Raiders still have room for improvement, they took a significant step in the right direction by producing a solid draft class that should solidify their offense.

The Raiders' draft class was led by running back Ashton Jeanty, whom the Raiders selected with the No. 6 pick. Leading up to the draft, the Raiders' interest in Jeanty was very public, as general manager John Spytek made it no secret how he felt about the talented back.

Jeanty was a perfect fit for the Raiders all along. However, just like the Raiders felt Jeanty was the perfect fit for them, other teams did as well, as the pairing made plenty of sense on paper, so much so that Spytek began using smokescreens to throw other teams off.

While Jeanty is expected to help turn around the Raiders' league-worst rushing attack from last season, he almost landed elsewhere. Dan Weiderer of the Chicago Tribune noted that the Chicago Bears inquired with teams about potentially moving up to draft Jeanty.

“Jeanty was widely considered one of the truly elite prospects of the draft class, regardless of position. And while the Bears made exploratory but purposeful calls to gauge trade-up possibilities, Poles couldn’t justify the price tag for jumping ahead of the Raiders at No. 6, even with the Browns open for business on trades at No. 5," Wiederer said.

Wiederer explained that the Bears were unwilling to pay what it likely would have taken to jump ahead of the Raiders with the No. 6 pick. That worked to the Raiders' advantage, as Chicago's decision not to trade up helped them land their prized prospect.

"In all likelihood, the Bears would have had to send the No. 10 pick plus at least one of their original second-round picks to make such a move," Wiederer said.

The Raiders and Jeanty are a perfect match, but the Bears would have been arguably just as good of a match for the talented running back. Luckily for Las Vegas, everything worked out and Jeanty will be with the Silver and Black for many years to come.

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