What Raiders Gained and Potentially Sacrificed in 2024 NFL Draft

The Las Vegas Raiders have made the most of their draft positions over the past couple of years. They may not have had much success in the regular season, but you cannot fault John Spytek and his ability to draft talented players.

One of the most poignant examples of this occurred during the 2024 NFL Draft, when instead of reaching for a quarterback at the 13th overall pick, they took the best player available. That decision netted them Brock Bowers, and he would go on to have one of the most explosive rookie seasons from a tight end ever.

Las Vegas Raiders Brock Bowers | Darrell Craig Harris, On SI

Bowers is now one of the offensive cornerstones of the team, and with an offseason of rest and improved quarterback play, it's expected that his third season with the Silver and Black will be one to write home about after a disappointing sophomore stint.

Klint Kubiak will surely find ways to make the most of his creative skillset, and he's bound to make highlight plays week in and week out with how much of a mismatch he is in the red zone. However, what if teams could travel back in time and redraft the 2024 NFL Draft based on what they know now?

2024 NFL Redraft

That's what Zachary Pereles of CBS Sports set out to answer in his 2024 NFL redraft. In this revised draft, there's no way that Bowers falls all the way down to 13th after his historic rookie season. That's why the Raiders opted to draft a defensive superstar in Byron Murphy II.

"It'd be easy to go with a different pass catcher, but instead, I'd argue Murphy is the best player still available in this redraft. He has developed into one of the best, most disruptive, and underappreciated interior defenders in the game", said Pereles.

Byron Murphy II just played the best game of his Seahawks career 👀

Wrecked the Steelers in both phases of the game on Sunday. Credited with 4 stops, 4 pressures, and 2 sacks. pic.twitter.com/nC5sbhwDJ4
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) September 15, 2025

Through two seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, Murphy has 98 total tackles, 7.5 sacks, and 10 tackles for loss. The Raiders were on the verge of trading Maxx Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens, and if they had Murphy on the roster, that trade wouldn't have hurt as much.

In the two years since the 2024 NFL Draft, the Raiders have yet to add a player of Murphy's caliber to their defensive line. That's something they should prioritize moving forward, especially in next year's draft.

Crosby's name is still circulating in trade rumors, and having a disruptive presence like Murphy on their defensive line would keep them on an upward trajectory, even if Crosby is potentially not there in the future.

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