Why Raiders Can Wait to Draft RB in Deep Class

The Las Vegas Raiders must improve their run game before the 2025 season.

Anyone who watched how last year unfolded for the Raiders’ ground game knows they will not win many games with the backfield as currently constructed. They have ways to upgrade that room, and they have no choice but to do it.

The Raiders could decide to take a running back in the 2025 NFL Draft, which feels like a logical outcome. This is one of the deepest running back classes in recent memory, and new head coach Pete Carroll knows how to identify rushing talent.

Many in Raider Nation hope the team will select Boise State star Ashton Jeanty with the No. 6 overall pick. There was a running back resurgence last season, so taking one early may be a popular move.

However, today, we will break down why this is not the best course of action for the Raiders.

The Raiders have more pressing needs than just running back. They must find their quarterback of the future, and there could be one available when they pick in the first round.

If Colorado star Shedeur Sanders slides past the top five picks, the Raiders should not hesitate to scoop him up. He could develop under Carroll, who has done a nice job bringing gunslingers along.

If Sanders is on the board and the Raiders draft a running back, they may miss an opportunity to find a franchise option at the most important position in football.

Jeanty would not elevate the Raiders to becoming a postseason team, which is what one might hope when drafting a skill position player that high. It would only make sense for Las Vegas to draft him if they have filled in all the rest of their needs through free agency.

The Raiders can address a more important position of need in the first round and then find a productive running back in the second or third round. Players like North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton, Ohio State’s Quinshon Judkins, and Texas Tech’s Tahj Brooks all make sense.

Drafting Jeanty in the first round would certainly give the Raiders a great player, but it would not make sense logistically for team-building purposes.

They should wait to take a player who could give them equal production and fill out the rest of their roster elsewhere.

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