BREAKING: Raiders Trade Down Again, Send No. 48 to Houston

The Las Vegas Raiders have traded down again in the 2025 NFL Draft, and will pick No. 58.

Feb 25, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Las Vegas Raiders general manager John Spytek (right) is interviewed by Raiders.com senior writer Eddie Paskal on radio row during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Another player the Las Vegas Raiders wanted in the 2025 NFL Draft, Michigan cornerback Will Johnson, was drafted by a different team.

The Raiders responded by trading down again, sending the No. 48 pick to Houston for picks No. 58 and No. 99.

The Raiders are avoiding taking gambles, preferring to invest with John Spytek and Pete Carroll.

The Raiders must have felt comfortable with the addition of Ashton Jeanty at No. 6 as one of the draft's top players. After selecting Jeanty, the Raiders have traded down twice and now do not pick again until the 58th pick. 

One thing is clear: the Raiders will lean on Jeanty early. And he will be expected to grow in some clear areas in that time. 

"Most always for the guys coming out of college is pass protection. That's the biggest issue that guys have, and we've studied every pass-pro op he had, and he gets the job done. But he'll get checked out," Carroll said about the No. 6 pick. 

"The teams that we play will try to make him have to pass pro and see if the young guys can do it, because that's just kind of the way we always go about it. And so, that will be an area for him that we'll emphasize greatly to make sure. He's tough as nails, he's powerful, he strikes guys the right way. Technique is good. We'll just try to make him better in all aspects of that. But I think that's probably the most challenging thing that he'll have to deal with."

Per Spytek after taking Jeanty, "We just try to evaluate the player for what they are and add great football players, and with as dynamic as Ashton [Jeanty] is and the kind of person he is, that's kind of what we're looking to add around here, too. I mean, you got a guy that had, what, almost 2,600 yards rushing last year, 29 touchdowns.

"He caught 43 balls in 2023 for over 10 yards a catch. He's can line up, he can run routes, he can catch balls, he can pass protect. I mean, running backs score touchdowns. Touchdowns, I think, are pretty important, and make playing defense a lot easier, too, I think."

The Raiders need help at cornerback, linebacker, defensive line, and wide receiver.

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