If the season were to end today, the Raiders would be selecting fourth overall in the 2025 NFL draft.
Would that be high enough in the NFL draft order for Las Vegas to wind up with one of the franchise signal-callers that it wants and that could help transform the Raiders’ longterm future?
As the season moves into Week 12, ESPN released an updated 2025 NFL mock draft. ESPN’s Matt Miller projects the New York Giants to trade up two slots and nab the No. 1 overall draft pick from the Jacksonville Jaguars.
With the No. 1 overall selection, Miller projects that the Giants would draft Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Miller then forecasts that the Cleveland Browns would draft Sanders’ Colorado teammate, wide receiver and defensive back Travis Hunter, at No. 2.
Just ahead of Las Vegas at No. 3, Miller features the Jacksonville Jaguars drafting Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr.
With Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter and Kelvin Banks Jr. off the board, Miller believes the Raiders would select Miami quarterback Cam Ward with the No. 4 overall pick.
The Raiders missed out on Shedeur Sanders in this mock, just as they missed the six first-round quarterbacks in the 2024 draft. But they would land the 2025 draft’s second-best QB in Ward. He has displayed an ability to dial up velocity from the pocket and when throwing off-platform, allowing him to make throws few college quarterbacks would even attempt. At 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, he also has the body type to excel as a runner when the pocket breaks down.
With 54 starts on his résumé, Ward should be ready to step right in and guide a Raiders team that is desperate for a new signal-caller after struggling with Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell this season. – Miller, ESPN.
This selection would be sure to delight Raiders fans as they hope for a quarterback like Ward that can alter Las Vegas’ compass in a championship direction.
Ward is enjoying a storybook campaign with the Miami Hurricanes during this 2024 college football season. The 6-foot-2, 223 pound signal-caller is completing 66.8% of his passes, has thrown for 3,494 yards and 32 touchdowns and has been intercepted just six times.
With Ward pulling the strings, Miami (9-1) is currently ranked No. 8 in the latest College Football Playoff Rankings and the favorite to win the ACC Championship.
The possibility of this pick becoming a reality became even more likely after Thursday Night Football. The Cleveland Browns (3-8) stunned the Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3), 24-19.
With the Browns ahead of the Raiders in the 2025 NFL draft order entering Week 12, it only enhances Las Vegas’ odds to wind up with a top-three pick and the franchise quarterback it’s searching for.
