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The NFL Draft is now less than one month away and free agency has mostly finished up. The Raiders’ roster is starting to take shape, giving us a much better sense for what needs they still have heading into the 2025 season. Utilizing PFF’s mock draft simulator, I went about putting together a Raiders only mock draft for all nine picks in all seven rounds.
The first five picks of this simulation saw 2 quarterbacks, Travis Hunter, Abdul Carter and Mason Graham come off the board. That leaves us with a few different options, but when the most talented player available also happens to fill arguably your biggest need, there’s no need to overthink things. I understand the arguments against taking a running back so high, but Jeanty is a special prospect in a draft class that doesn't have very many of those. Raiders fans saw what a running game can look like if you don’t have a viable running back. With this pick, that won’t be a concern for quite some time.
It still remains to be seen what the Raiders defense will look like with Pete Carroll in the building, but with Patrick Graham being retained, I’d imagine a lot of things stay the same. Amos will work best in a defense that plays a lot of press-man and cover three. The Raiders did plenty of that in 2024, and of course, that’s what Pete Carroll was known for in Seattle. Cornerback is a big time need for this team, and they did very little to address it in free agency. Amos should be a solid starter with the upside to develop into a shutdown corner.
Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers is a really nice start to a pass catching group, with Bowers obviously the long term focal point, but they need a big outside receiver who can win contested catches. Tre Harris fits that mold, and there could be much more to his game. He played in a nonsense offense at Ole Miss, so they might need to be patient as he learns how to play receiver in the NFL, but he has the chance to develop into an excellent beater of man and press coverage.
I suspect stopping the run will be a huge point of emphasis in 2025, so adding a run stuffing nose tackle like Caldwell makes a ton of sense. At the very least, he’ll be a solid early down player next to Christian Wilkins. While Wilkins shoots gaps hunting for TFL’s, Caldwell can eat double teams and disrupt blocking schemes. He also has enough quickness to provide some pass rush upside in the future.
Kandra is an athletic guard who could be a future starter in a wide zone scheme like the one Chip Kelly runs. He’s an intelligent player who needs to refine his technique as a pass protector if he’s going to contribute in the NFL, but the physical tools are there and worth taking on day three.
Dont’e Thornton Jr. is one of my favorite day three prospects in this draft. He has a long way to go before he meaningfully contributes to an NFL passing attack, but he is an extremely high effort player. He runs every vertical route like it’s his last, and blocks his tail off. Thornton Jr. is an excellent candidate to be an elite special teams player, and maybe he develops into a rotational field stretcher.
Jaylin Smith is another developmental prospect who can contribute right away on special teams. He played all over the defensive backfield for USC, and coaches will love his willingness to do whatever is asked of him. He’s also a good athlete and shows some promise as a man coverage defender.
Buchanan is one of the most experienced players in the draft, with more than 2400 defensive snaps over five years of college football. He played his first four years in the FCS at UC Davis, but had arguably the best season of his career against tougher competition. He’s very versatile and has three down potential if everything goes right.
Another player with an abundance of experience, Miles Frazier started a ridiculous 50 games in his college career. He has been genuinely excellent as a pass protector over his three seasons facing SEC competition, but struggles in the run game. At this point in the draft you’re looking for players who can do any one thing at a very high level, and Frazier offers just that.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders 7-Round Mock Draft
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Round 1, Pick 6: Ashton Jeanty, RB - Boise State
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The first five picks of this simulation saw 2 quarterbacks, Travis Hunter, Abdul Carter and Mason Graham come off the board. That leaves us with a few different options, but when the most talented player available also happens to fill arguably your biggest need, there’s no need to overthink things. I understand the arguments against taking a running back so high, but Jeanty is a special prospect in a draft class that doesn't have very many of those. Raiders fans saw what a running game can look like if you don’t have a viable running back. With this pick, that won’t be a concern for quite some time.
Round 2, Pick 37: Trey Amos, CB - Ole Miss
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It still remains to be seen what the Raiders defense will look like with Pete Carroll in the building, but with Patrick Graham being retained, I’d imagine a lot of things stay the same. Amos will work best in a defense that plays a lot of press-man and cover three. The Raiders did plenty of that in 2024, and of course, that’s what Pete Carroll was known for in Seattle. Cornerback is a big time need for this team, and they did very little to address it in free agency. Amos should be a solid starter with the upside to develop into a shutdown corner.
Round 3, Pick 68: Tre Harris, WR - Ole Miss
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Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers is a really nice start to a pass catching group, with Bowers obviously the long term focal point, but they need a big outside receiver who can win contested catches. Tre Harris fits that mold, and there could be much more to his game. He played in a nonsense offense at Ole Miss, so they might need to be patient as he learns how to play receiver in the NFL, but he has the chance to develop into an excellent beater of man and press coverage.
Round 4, Pick 108: Jamaree Caldwell, DL - Oregon
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I suspect stopping the run will be a huge point of emphasis in 2025, so adding a run stuffing nose tackle like Caldwell makes a ton of sense. At the very least, he’ll be a solid early down player next to Christian Wilkins. While Wilkins shoots gaps hunting for TFL’s, Caldwell can eat double teams and disrupt blocking schemes. He also has enough quickness to provide some pass rush upside in the future.
Round 5, Pick 143: Luke Kandra, G - Cincinnati
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Kandra is an athletic guard who could be a future starter in a wide zone scheme like the one Chip Kelly runs. He’s an intelligent player who needs to refine his technique as a pass protector if he’s going to contribute in the NFL, but the physical tools are there and worth taking on day three.
Round 6, Pick 180: Dont’e Thornton Jr., WR - Tennessee
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Dont’e Thornton Jr. is one of my favorite day three prospects in this draft. He has a long way to go before he meaningfully contributes to an NFL passing attack, but he is an extremely high effort player. He runs every vertical route like it’s his last, and blocks his tail off. Thornton Jr. is an excellent candidate to be an elite special teams player, and maybe he develops into a rotational field stretcher.
Round 6, Pick 213: Jaylin Smith, CB - USC
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Jaylin Smith is another developmental prospect who can contribute right away on special teams. He played all over the defensive backfield for USC, and coaches will love his willingness to do whatever is asked of him. He’s also a good athlete and shows some promise as a man coverage defender.
Round 6, Pick 215: Teddye Buchanan, LB - California
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Buchanan is one of the most experienced players in the draft, with more than 2400 defensive snaps over five years of college football. He played his first four years in the FCS at UC Davis, but had arguably the best season of his career against tougher competition. He’s very versatile and has three down potential if everything goes right.
Round 7, Pick 222: Miles Frazier, G - LSU
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Another player with an abundance of experience, Miles Frazier started a ridiculous 50 games in his college career. He has been genuinely excellent as a pass protector over his three seasons facing SEC competition, but struggles in the run game. At this point in the draft you’re looking for players who can do any one thing at a very high level, and Frazier offers just that.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders 7-Round Mock Draft
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