New Seven-Round Mock Predicts Raiders Miss Out on Jeanty

In this recent mock draft, Ashton Jeanty gets picked fifth overall which means the Las Vegas Raiders must go for the next-best offensive weapon in Tetairoa McMillan.

Nov 30, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) celebrates a touchdown against the Arizona State Sun Devils in the second half during the Territorial Cup at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders are heavily predicted to draft Ashton Jeanty with the sixth overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft. They had the worst running game in the NFL last season, pairing Jeanty with Raheem Mostert as the backup, and suddenly they have a top-five running back room in the league.

This is a deep running back class which means they aren't necessarily guaranteed to pick him, but it would make a lot of sense for the Raiders, especially now that Pete Carroll will be the head coach. He'll want to make things as smooth as possible for Geno Smith.

While Jeanty doesn't explicitly help them out in the passing game, he does give Smith the easy choice of handing it off to a young workhorse running back and letting him handle the rest. The Raiders have many reasons as to why they would draft Jeanty, but what if he wasn't available?

That's not something most analysts would consider, but it's the question, Chris Trapasso presents in his latest mock draft written on CBS Sports. He predicts they'll go for the next best thing in Tetairoa McMillan to help out their offense.

"New Raiders GM John Spytek gets Geno Smith a prototypical "X" receiver in McMillan", said Trapasso. This isn't the first time McMillan has been linked to the Raiders, but it's the first time I've encountered a mock draft in which Jeanty wasn't available for the Raiders.

The context, whenever McMillan was selected, was that the Raiders chose him as opposed to Jeanty to help out their wide receiver room in a draft class where quality running backs could be found in later rounds of the NFL draft.

Trapasso's recent mock draft is one where he predicts all seven rounds of the NFL draft, and in his prediction, he believes the Raiders won't address running back until the fourth round. Regardless, McMillan will complement Brock Bowers as two big-bodied pass-catchers who have the speed to take any given throw their way in for a touchdown.

It's also a pick for their future, as they lack a dominant receiver in the wide receiver room who's a part of the long-term future. They have Tre Tucker who could grow alongside McMillan, but his potential far surpasses that of Tucker.

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