2025 Draft Guide: Las Vegas Raiders

Coaching History: Last Three Years

Head Coach: Pete Carroll (N/A ’24, SEA ’23-24)
Offensive Coordinator: Chip Kelly (N/A ’22-24)
2024 Record: 4-13

Team Summary

The Las Vegas Raiders are probably on the short list of teams that may look the most different in 2025 compared to their 2024 season. Pete Carroll returns from retirement to take over as head coach, and Chip Kelly returns to the NFL as the offensive coordinator. To help, Geno Smith was signed in Free Agency, and they drafted Ashton Jeanty, the best RB prospect in the draft. For a team that ranked as poorly as they did in the offensive categories, they at least cannot be accused of being complacent.

With Pete Carroll at the helm, expect the Raiders to focus on establishing a physical running game. The last couple years of the Pete Carroll era (which also included QB Geno Smith), the offense was at least middle of the pack ranking 9th and 17th in scoring between 2022 and 2023. It won’t be hard to improve from 29th, and with a QB upgrade and decent weapons around the offense, that will be the expectation. Jeanty should be able to consistently churn out yards on the ground to keep drives alive and move the team into scoring position much more frequently than last year. In addition, Geno Smith has turned into one of the more accurate QBs in the league, so in the instances where they do need to throw, they will be in a much better spot than relying on Aiden O’Connell or Garnder Minshew.

Also aiding the offense, the Raiders later selected a pair of rookie WRs, Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton Jr. While Bech is the more polished prospect, Thornton has more athletic potential, and a clearer path to playing time. It is important to note all of the passing weapons for the Raiders, because despite Pete Carroll’s reputation for embracing the running game, his teams tended towards passing 60% of the time in his last few years as a head coach. Having suitable options for Geno Smith to target increases the odds of success with a similar scheme.

Given their roster, expect the Raiders to run a higher rate of “12” personnel to get both Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer on the field. With two advantages, as both can help with blocking in the running game and both are plus receivers if defenses try to match up to stop the run. This may limit the opportunities for the Raiders’ third receiver, but it should do wonders for their offensive efficiency.

2024 Ranks (2023 Rank)

• Points: 29th (23rd)
• Yards: 27th (27th)
• Passing Attempts: 4th (22nd)
• Passing Yards: 13th (23rd)
• Passing TDs: 28th (22nd)
• Rushing Attempts: 30th (27th)
• Rushing Yards: 32nd (30th)
• Rushing TDs: 28th (20th)

2024 Positional Market Share

The Raiders backfield was a cluttered mess in 2024. No one received even a 35% rushing share, with 4 different RBs exceeding 10%. That will not be a problem in 2025, with Ashton Jeanty taking the reins.

Unsurprisingly, given their personnel, the Raiders were Top 3 in the NFL in target share for TEs (33%). With only Jakobi Meyers as an established pass catcher, Brock Bowers took the mantle as top option in the passing game, and this should continue in 2025. However, we should see an increased role for Michael Mayer and we should see the RB targets consolidate nearly completely to Ashton Jeanty rather than being split between multiple backs.

Depth Chart:

• QB: Geno Smith, Aiden O’Connell
• RB: Ashton Jeanty, Raheem Mostert, Sincere McCormick, Zamir White
• WR: Jakobi Meyers (Z/Slot), Dont’e Thornton Jr. (X), Tre Tucker (Z), Jack Bech (Z/Slot)
• TE: Brock Bowers, Michael Mayer

Player Breakdowns

Geno Smith makes the transition from the Pacific Northwest to the desert in Las Vegas. This may be the single most important move of the offseason, as Las Vegas has suffered through terrible QB play following Derek Carr’s move to the Saints. Geno is a respectable QB2, and is probably going to be undervalued both in redraft and dynasty due to the fact that he 1) is playing for the Raiders and 2) is entering the season at age 34. There are worse options out there, especially for Superflex leagues.

Jeanty was selected with the 6th Overall Pick in the NFL Draft. In the previous 10 NFL drafts there have been 7 RBs selected with a Top 10 Pick: Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, Saquon Barkley, Leonard Fournette, Christian McCaffrey, Ezekiel Elliott, and Todd Gurley. These RBs have averaged over 18 touches per game and 17.89 FPPG in their rookie years. Consider Jeanty a low-end RB1 this year, we still aren’t sure what the Raiders offensive environment will be like.

Meyers is one of the most underrated WRs in the NFL. While his upside is capped, he has finished as at least WR30 and scored at least 180 PPR points each of the last 4 seasons. With the upgrade at QB, treating Meyers as a WR2 that you can draft at WR41 can give you a ton of flexibility in other areas of your draft.

Thornton is an athletic rookie out of Tennessee. He wasn’t the most accomplished prospect, but his size and athleticism is obvious. He is likely to start immediately, as the Raiders do not have another X WR to compete for snaps. The efficiency likely won’t be good, but remember the name late in your drafts and monitor his usage. If he earns significant usage early, his big play ability offers significant upside, especially in best ball leagues.

Bowers backed up the hype in his rookie year, setting NFL records for rookie receptions (all positions) and for receiving yards by a TE. In year two, he not only gets a year of development, but an improved running game and improved accuracy from the QB position. Bowers is one of the rare TEs that will lead his team in targets, making him one of the most valuable positional advantages in fantasy football. People can argue about when he should be drafted, but there is a case to be made for the 1st round.

It has essentially been a broken record every offseason for the Raiders’ coaching staff to admit that they need to get Mayer more involved. This time, he gets a new coaching staff, and there have been reports out of training camp that he has been more involved. Expect him to be an extra redzone threat, as teams try to focus on stopping Jeanty and Bowers near the goal line.

More Draft Guides