2025 NFL Draft Grades: Las Vegas Raiders

Best Pick: I love the pick of receiver Jack Bech in the second round. Geno Smith will love throwing to him. He's tough, can run routes and will be a productive NFL player early in his career.

Worst Pick: Third-round guard Caleb Rogers went a round or two too high. He's a solid player, but he isn't a power player when it comes to movement. He can play some tackle, too, though.

The Skinny: New general manager John Spytek had a good first draft. Taking running back Ashton Jeanty in the first was a good move, but he added a lot of good players. Bech and fourth-round receiver Dante Thornton Jr. will help the passing game. Third-round corner Darien Porter could be a steal. Sixth-round quarterback Tommy Mellott is a player they will move to receiver.

Top needs entering the draft: Running back, offensive line, wide receiver, cornerback and linebacker

The Ashton Jeanty-Raiders connection has been out there for a while. I've been projecting the elite running back to Vegas since before the combine. As soon as the Raiders hired Pete Carroll and traded for quarterback Geno Smith, it made sense. Jeanty ran for 2,601 yards last season, but the even more impressive number is his 1,733 rushing yards after first contact. He has the contact balance, vision, elusiveness and speed to find a hole and go. Carroll has leaned on the run game in the past, and now he gets his Marshawn Lynch to dominate on the ground in the AFC West.

The Raiders really needed to make a splash, too. They were last in rushing (3.6 yards per carry), and 33-year-old Raheem Mostert was at the top of the depth chart Thursday morning. I talk a lot about how teams should never take running backs in the first round, and this is the earliest we've seen one selected since Saquon Barkley went second in 2018. I'm lifting that philosophy for this pick. Jeanty was my No. 4 prospect. I'm OK with this one.

The Raiders kept helping Smith and the offense, too. Jack Bech can make plays downfield and in tight coverage. And Caleb Rogers and Charles Grant provide instant depth to the offensive line. I love Grant's game in particular. The former high school wrestler is explosive and physical, and he has 34¾-inch length. If Las Vegas coaches him up, it might have something with him -- though it might take time. Even the sixth-round dart throw at Tommy Mellott -- a quarterback turned receiver -- could be interesting. His workout got scouts talking. Las Vegas averaged 17.8 points per game last season, 28th in the NFL. But this offensive unit could move the chains in 2025. Sign me up for Jeanty, Bech, Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers all day.

It's easy to get excited about the offensive upgrades and forget about the defensive turnover, though. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. The Tre'von Moehrig and Robert Spillane losses could hurt. Darien Porter was the only defensive pick before Round 4. He's speedy, but he's still learning the cornerback position after switching from receiver. Tonka Hemingway is an undersized 3-technique, and I'm not positive how fellow defensive tackle JJ Pegues fits into the mix. I wonder if he's more of a fullback in the pros. Linebacker Cody Lindenberg is probably a special-teamer.

One more note: I shouted this out Friday, but the pair of Day 2 trade-backs was good business. The Raiders traded Nos. 37 and 143 to Miami for Nos. 48, 98 and 135. Then, they traded back again, sending No. 48 to Houston for Nos. 58 and 99. Las Vegas took some swings in the late rounds because of these trades, and it ended up with 11 picks.

It felt like the Raiders went into this draft looking to lay the foundation for a new team culture, adding a handful of players who exude toughness and grit. Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty is a creator with the ball in his hands and should provide an identity of toughness and physicality on offense. TCU's Jack Bech can do the same as a pass catcher, bringing strength and a ball-winner mentality to Vegas. Iowa State corner Darien Porter represents grit: He's a former receiver who switched to corner and primarily played on special teams for a few years, eventually earning a major role on defense with the Cyclones. Add in versatility with offensive tackles Caleb Rogers (Texas Tech) and Charles Grant (William & Mary)—as well as a lid-lifting speedster at receiver in Dont'e Thornton Jr. (Tennessee)—and Pete Carroll's first draft with the team looks like a solid one.

No team has undergone more of a transformation on offense over the offseason than the Raiders, whose selection of Ashton Jeanty (and earlier trade for Geno Smith) vaporized whatever memories fans might have of last year's offense. A true bell cow, Jeanty is a future NFL superstar, and he's going to a head coach in Pete Carroll who won't hesitate to feature him as such.

Jeanty deserves praise, but so does the rest of the Raiders' incoming class. I especially loved the Raiders' Day 2 picks. Wideout Jack Bech is going to quickly emerge as one of Smith's favorite targets. Darien Porter was born to play cornerback for Carroll, with the former wideout-turned-defender taking the same path to the NFL as Richard Sherman and Tariq Woolen. The Raiders also nabbed two of the more underrated blockers in this class, in the durable and dependable Caleb Rogers and Charles Grant. The back-to-back selections of small-school quarterbacks Tommy Mellott and Cam Miller probably raised plenty of eyebrows, but the former is an elite athlete whose future could be at receiver. The Raiders needed a renaissance ... and this draft is the perfect capper to an offseason that delivered it.

Here's why: Did you really think the offensive coordinator (Chip Kelly) who signed Ryan Mathews and Demarco Murray in one offseason and the head coach (Pete Carroll) who was addicted to taking running backs at his old job were going to pass on a blue-chip running back prospect? Ashton Jeanty is going to be a lot of fun in Kelly's offense and will be on the field early and often. Jack Bech is a strong complementary receiver with great hands, a feel for beating zone, some real YAC ability and can fill a lot of roles on an offense. I really liked the Raiders taking two swings on project offensive tackles Caleb Rogers and Charles Grant on back-to-back picks, too. Might as well stack the odds in your favor, right? Wideout Dont'e Thornton Jr. adds more speed to the offense and QB Tommy Mellott is a fun offensive weapon type to work with. Fun class for the Raiders.

Most interesting pick: Darien Porter, CB, Iowa State

He's a converted wide receiver with excellent size, athleticism and a dynamic special teamer as well. Porter is the type of long cornerback prospect that Pete Carroll drools over (with a background similar to former Carroll protégé Richard Sherman). Porter is one of the more interesting Day 2 selections at any position, and ends up with a coach who can get the most out of him.

No. 6 overall pick Ashton Jeanty was one of this draft's few apparent blue-chippers and should instantly catalyze what was the league's worst ground game in 2024. Aside from being inspirational, second-rounder Jack Bech might immediately emerge as new QB Geno Smith's top wide receiver. Third-rounders Darien Porter, a corner, and Charles Grant, an offensive tackle, could wind up as high-quality starters at mid-range draft cost. Seemingly nice debut by rookie GM John Spytek.

The Raiders went heavy on the offensive side, using five of their first six choices to build up the unit around quarterback Geno Smith. Jeanty is the centerpiece, a back who will be utilized heavily from the start after he rushed for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns last year with Boise State. Beyond Jeanty, Bech, Rogers and Grant could all be starters in 2025, giving Las Vegas some excellent talent and value throughout its draft class.

Ashton Jeanty and Darien Porter were both terrific picks and prototypical Pete Carroll players. They drafted two offensive linemen in a row at the tail end of the third round. Carroll and GM John Spytek made a suprising, but great move by taking two hidden gems in this draft class, both the starting quarterbacks in the FCS National Championship game, North Dakota's Cam Miller and Montana State's Tommy Mellott. Miller is a long term project that will benefit from learning under Geno Smith and Mellott might be one of the best all around athletes in the draft.