Silver Minings: NFL Draft order update, Raiders out of QB range

Las Vegas now behind 4 QB-needy teams

The first back-to-back wins for the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2024 season came at the wrong time. While the Raiders played their best game of the year in Week 17, defeating the New Orleans Saints 25-10, the win slides Las Vegas down in the NFL Draft order and significantly decreases its odds of drafting a top quarterback.

Top 10 Order

Order below is via Tankathon.com

1. New England Patriots 3-13
2. Tennessee Titans 3-13
3. Cleveland Browns 3-13
4. New York Giants 3-13
5. Jacksonville Jaguars 4-12
6. Carolina Panthers 4-12
7. New York Jets 4-12
8. Las Vegas Raiders 4-12
9. Chicago Bears 4-12
10. New Orleans Saints 5-11

Sunday wasn’t kind when it comes to the Silver and Black’s odds at drafting a new signal-caller. Jacksonville defeated Tennessee and New York won. The latter means if Las Vegas had lost the last two games, it would have the No. 1 pick heading into the final week of the regular season.

With the order as is, the Raiders will be picking behind four teams that could draft a quarterback; the Titans, Browns, Giants and Jets. Also, if Las Vegas defeats the Los Angeles Chargers next week—and the Chargers already have a playoff spot locked up—while New Orleans loses to Tampa Bay, the Raiders will fall behind another QB-needy team in the Saints. The Raiders reportedly can pick as high as No. 4 and as low as No. 10.

So, the Raiders path toward drafting Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward has gotten much more complicated over the last two weeks.

In Other Raiders’ Links:

• Did Antonio Pierce save his job?: X/Twitter reacts to the Raiders’ win as Pierce’s odds to remain head coach improved.
• Las Vegas opens as underdogs: our friends at FanDuel sports have the Silver and Black as 5.5-point underdogs against the Chargers in the season-finale.
• Will Johnson to Vegas in Mock Draft: “Will Johnson may be the best player available when healthy and available,” CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards wrote. “He is a Patrick Surtain II-caliber cornerback prospect at his best. Las Vegas has struggled to find a boundary cornerback worth investing in for more than a decade.”
• Step aside, Mike Ditka: “Bowers set the new NFL record for receiving yardage by a rookie tight end,” Silver and Black Pride’s Bill Williamson wrote. “The record was previously owned by Pro Football Hall of Fame member Mike Ditka. He set the record in 1961 while with the Chicago Bears.”