Silver Minings: Week 18 updated NFL Draft order, Still in bad spot for QB

Despite moving up, Las Vegas is still behind several QB-needy teams

After winning back-to-back games in the two weeks before Sunday’s outing, the Las Vegas Raiders finally moved up in the 2025 NFL Draft order with the Week 18 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. However, the Raiders are still in a bad spot when it comes to drafting a quarterback in the first round, specifically Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward.

Top 10 Order

The order below is via Tankathon.

1. Tennessee Titans 3-14
2. Cleveland Browns 3-14
3. New York Giants 3-14
4. New England Patriots 4-13
5. Jacksonville Jaguars 4-13
6. Las Vegas Raiders 4-13
7. New York Jets 5-12
8. Carolina Panthers 5-12
9. New Orleans Saints 5-12
10. Chicago Bears 5-12

The Raiders might have a gripe with the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo opted to rest its starters against New England and the Patriots proceeded to win which cost them the No. 1 overall pick. Now, the three teams at the top of the board could be looking for a quarterback; the Titans, Browns and Giants, which could prevent the Raiders from trading up in the draft.

So, the Silver and Black could get squeezed out from drafting the future of the franchise for the second year in a row since the organization may not have a trade partner ot move up in the draft. Had New England owned the pick, Tom Brady might have been able to call a favor to Robert Kraft but that’s a moot point now.

In Other Raiders’ links:

• Progress was not made: “Last month, Raiders owner Mark Davis said he wanted to see progress made down the stretch and he would evaluate Pierce after the season,” Silver and Black Pride’s Bill Williamson wrote. “Sunday morning, NFL Media reported the thought inside the Raiders’ building is that Pierce will be safe because his young and injured team played hard. After the game, Pierce said “no comment” to questions about his job security.”
• Last place has its benefits: After finishing at the bottom of the AFC West, the Raiders do get a favorable schedule next year.
• Fans question Antonio Pierce’s job status: “Pierce was in his first season as the full-time head coach after taking over on an interim basis midway through the 2023 campaign. After it initially looked like he was a galvanizing force who changed the attitude of the team, the Raiders regressed in a big way this year,” Bleacher Report’s Doric Sam wrote. “Fans understandably debated whether Pierce should return as head coach after Las Vegas’ disappointing end to the season:”
• Kyler Murray to Las Vegas: “The Arizona Cardinals’ Kyler Murray is the top option who could be available,” The Athletic’s Tashan Reed wrote. “He signed a five-year, $230.5 million contract in 2022 and has three years remaining on his deal, but the Cardinals have missed the playoffs for three seasons in a row and might be looking for a change. They would take a dead cap hit of $33.2 million if they traded Murray, however, so the trade package would likely need to blow them away.”