NFL Mock Draft: Russell Wilson Doesn’t Affect Raiders Draft Plans

The Las Vegas Raiders may have just gotten an opportunity to draft the quarterback of their future. The New York Giants have signed Russell Wilson to a one-year deal, which possibly takes them out of the running for drafting a quarterback at third overall.

The Wilson deal may mean nothing, or it may mean they could be leaning towards another prospect. The top two quarterback prospects are presumably not making it out of the top five picks, and the Raiders pick at sixth.

After making a trade for Geno Smith, it's unlikely the Raiders would be willing to give up more draft capital to move up in the draft. It can only be assumed that they were just going to wait at sixth and see which players fell to them.

Just about a month before the draft is set to begin, things have changed, and now it's possible that Shedeur Sanders is available at sixth. Mike Tannenbaum, an NFL analyst, considered this and didn't change their selection of Ashton Jeanty in his mock draft.

"Landing Jeanty would set the tempo for Las Vegas under Pete Carroll. Jeanty doesn't have the physicality of Marshawn Lynch (who starred under Carroll in Seattle), but he has the skills to be more impactful as an overall NFL player.

Jeanty had a remarkable 1,733 yards after contact (and 2,601 total) last season. The Raiders, meanwhile, had a league-low 1,357 rushing yards in 2024", said Tannenbaum.

Jeanty is a player who has been linked to the Raiders many times across multiple mock drafts. It makes sense, though, as none of the teams in the top five would even entertain the idea of taking Jeanty with their pick.

This leaves the Raiders in the perfect position to draft a generational running back that will shape their franchise for the next couple of years, at least. If the Raiders make this selection, it's with the expectation that with Jeanty, they won't be picking so close to the top five again next year.

Smith was an upgrade over their quarterbacks last year, but he doesn't give them a definitive answer at that position. This means they'll most likely be looking for quarterbacks in later rounds, but that shouldn't deter them from selecting a player who will help out their team tremendously, such as Jeanty.

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