Mailbag: What will Raiders do with 6th overall pick?

After focusing on free agency over the last couple of weeks, we’re shifting gears with this week’s Las Vegas Raiders’ mailbag and diving into the 2025 NFL Draft. We’ve got a lot to go over, so let’s get to it!

Q: Given the Geno Smith trade, what do you think the Raiders will do with pick #6? QB, BPA, need, or trade down?

A: Best player available.

Trading for Smith buys John Spytek and Pete Carroll some time to figure out the long-term plan at quarterback, meaning they don’t have to take one early or at all during the draft. With needs, I think the Raiders have so many right now that there could be some overlap in those strategies.

For example, the team could use a cornerback, wide receiver, running back and future left tackle which Will Johnson, Tetairoa McMillan, Ashton Jeanty and Will Campbell can fill. Of the top prospects in this year’s class, Mason Graham is the only one who doesn’t fill a need but should still be on the table.

More on trading back later.

Q: Besides the popular options of Will Howard and Jalen Milroe, are there any developmental QBs the Raiders could/should take a look at in the middle rounds?

A: Outside of those two, and assuming Jaxson Dart isn’t in this discussion, my choice would be Louisville’s Tyler Shough. Let me rephrase, Oregon’s/Texas Tech’s/Louisville’s Tyler Shough.

If you just watched Shough’s tape from last season, you might wonder why he isn’t considered a first-round pick. He has plenty of arm talent and is a good athlete for the position to have some tools to work with.

However, Shough is a one-year wonder who took seven years in college to put it all together and will be a 26-year-old rookie. He also has an injury history to take into consideration. But if we’re talking about taking a chance on a mid-round quarterback, Shough is the guy I’d bet on.

The Raiders are reportedly high on Quinn Ewers from Texas, which I don’t completely understand, and Syracuse’s Kyle McCord could be intriguing too. McCord has impressive accuracy but doesn’t have good physical traits to work with.

Q: If the Raiders focus on the offensive line in round one, how would you rank the following options: pick Will Campbell at six, pick Armand Membou at six, trade into the mid-teens and pick Kelvin Banks, trade into the early 20s and pick Tyler Booker OR Josh Simmons, and trade into late 20s and pick Grey Zabel?

Photo by Gus Stark/LSU/University Images via Getty Images

A: Campbell at six, Membou at six, early 20s for Simmons, mid-teens for Banks, late 20s for Zabel, and Booker early 20s.

I like Campbell’s game a lot and think he’s the best offensive lineman in the draft, worthy of being No. 6 overall. Membou definitely has the traits to become a quality offensive tackle and I wouldn’t hate that pick at all, I just like Campbell a little more. Simmons’ injury concerns me, but an early 20s pick on a guy who could be a premier left tackle is excellent value and I think he’s better than Banks, when healthy. As far as Zabel versus Booker, I like the value more with Zabel in the late 20s and think he’s a better athlete than Booker and thus, a better fit with Chip Kelly.

Q: Looking at the Raiders’ roster, it seems there is a hole at nose tackle. Have you seen any in the draft that are worth a look?

A: Welcome to my dojo, I love a good nose tackle!

I think there are a handful of quality noses in this year’s class, starting with Michigan’s Kenneth Grant. Grant is a rock in the running game and an athletic freak who also has upside as a pass-rusher, but he’ll probably be a mid- to late-first-round pick, so out of range for the Silver and Black.

The two nose tackles who I’d consider “my guys” are Texas’ Alfred Collins and Maryland’s Jordan Phillips. Collins didn’t play a ton of nose, but he has the skill set to line up over the center at the next level. Phillips is a former high school wrestler and weightlifter who can eat double teams in the trenches.

I’d be excited if the Raiders walk away with any of those three in the draft, and keep your eyes peeled for film room pieces on them soon!

Q: How deep is the draft class at FS, LB and NT? Do the Raiders have to fill these needs with their top 100 picks or can they wait and address OL, RB, WR early?

A: I can’t speak to the depth of the free safety class much since I haven’t gotten into the weeds at that position yet. I touched on the nose tackles above and the position has a good amount of depth there, the same goes for linebackers. This is one of the better linebacker classes in recent years, in my opinion.

With top 100 picks, you want to find as many potential starters as possible. So I wouldn’t pass on a safety, linebacker or nose tackle who fits that description and hope someone else will be available later. But yes, linebacker and nose tackle definitely have some depth to them this year.

Q: With Jakobi Meyers & his 4.65 40 possession makeup to pair with Bowers & TE/Big Slot route trees in mind; doesn’t it make more sense to go after a guy on the outside (6’ +) that can take the top off? Tre Tucker plays 20% of the snaps/undersized.

A: I’m on to you, this is a Tetairoa McMillan hate question! LOL.

Part of the problem is this is a down wide receiver class overall and I’m not sure there’s a guy who fits your description and is a quality prospect. Also, I think you’re looking at Las Vegas’ wide receiver situation a little short-sided.

The offense could use a young potential WR1, especially since Meyers is entering a contract year. So, that’s where the logic comes in with McMilliam. Granted, I’m with you in that I’m not 100 percent sold on him either, to be clear.

I wouldn’t sleep on Tre Tucker now that the Raiders have a strong-armed quarterback in Smith. I don’t know where you got the 20 percent number, but Pro Football Reference had him playing in 88 percent of the offense’s snaps last season. This will be a pivotal year for Tucker, but I think he can be what Smith had in Tyler Lockett with the Seahawks.

A: Honestly, I’d rather have Travis Hunter (highly doubt he falls to six), Graham, Campbell or Johnson than Jeanty or McMillian, and would try to trade back if those were the only two options.

As mentioned above, I’m not completely sold on McMillian. While I’m not an anti-first-round running backs guy, I think the Raiders have too many other question marks to use a top-10 pick on a running back, especially with how deep this year’s class is at the position. Jeanty has a bright future ahead of him, I just don’t think he’d be the best investment for the Raiders.

To me, the better value for Las Vegas would be collecting more capital and being able to address more needs than taking either of those two at six.

A: We’re on the same page here. I might flip Johnson and Campbell, but I could be swayed in either direction and think both players would be good pickups. I touched on trading back a bit above, and to add to that, this year’s draft class lacks some top-end talent but does have a cluster of quality prospects in the 20 to 60 range. So, I wouldn’t be mad at acquiring more draft picks either.

Barring a Jon Gruden/Mike Mayock-style first-round reach, there aren’t many avenues I’d be upset with on night one…which probably means the Raiders will find a new way to piss me off on draft night, lol!

A: On that note, I have nightmares about them taking Jaxson Dart at six. I haven’t seen that happening in mock drafts, but I also don’t remember seeing Alex Leatherwood or Damon Arnette getting mocked to the Raiders in the first round either. There could be a reach for a need like Texas’ Jahdae Barron, where Barron isn’t viewed as a top-10 pick leading into the draft. But it’s hard to predict a real shocker like the ones Gruden and Mayock gave us.

A: The Raiders met with Dart at the combine, so he’s definitely on their radar. Where he’ll go is kind of a mystery at this point. I could see the Pittsburgh Steelers taking Dart at 21, and I could see him being available at 37. Personally, I don’t like Dart enough to trade up for him, but wouldn’t mind it if the Raiders took him in the second round.

Q: Is there a reason the Raiders haven’t had a press conference for Geno Smith yet since the trade? Or are they working on a new contract first?

A: I’m assuming they are waiting on the contract extension before having Smith’s introductory presser. It is weird that the Raiders haven’t extended him already, though. While the extension wasn’t in place when the trade happened, it seemed pretty cut and dry that he was going to get a new deal, so the hold-up is head-scratching and I thought it would have been done by now. Then again, maybe I’m just scarred from past free agencies with the Raiders…

A: Unless it’s a really cheap one-year contract, I’d pass on Tyler Lockett. His production has steadily gone down over the last three years and he’ll be 33 in September. I’d rather see the Raiders take a chance on someone in the draft.

That’ll do it for this week’s mailbag. Thank you all for submitting questions and, as your weekly reminder, if you’d like to have your questions answered in a future column, tweet them at me, @MHolder95, email them to [email protected] or look for our weekly call for questions on the site. The latter will continue to publish on Thursdays.