Searching for something special: 5 potential draft picks to make Raider Nation happy

The Las Vegas Raiders have the sixth pick in the NFL Draft, which begins todayin Green Bay, Wisconsin, and with a new coach, new general manager and new partial owner, it’s anyone’s guess who the team will select. But that doesn’t stop Raider Nation, a passionate and opinionated if often pessimistic fan base, from doing just that.

Nor will it stop us.

It’s said that the late Al Davis and John Madden used to argue over which position was most important on the football field: cornerback or offensive tackle. In today’s game, it’s widely considered the quarterback. While the Raiders have their new starter Geno Smith signed for at least three years, they do have holes on the roster both Davis and Madden would want to fill. And there are high-quality players available in this draft to fill them.

Quarterback Cam Ward of Miami is a virtual lock to be taken first overall by the Tennessee Titans, which means the Raiders need five names they are prepared to write down when it becomes their time on the clock. Here are five players worthy of being the sixth pick.

TRAVIS HUNTER, CB/WR, COLORADO

Is it likely that Hunter drops to the Raiders? No. But it’s not impossible. Champ Bailey was picked seventh overall. Pat Surtain II was taken ninth. In fact, only 10 cornerbacks have been taken in the top five since the Raiders made Charles Woodson—who, like Hunter, won the Heisman Trophy as a defensive back while also playing some offense—the fourth pick of the 1998 draft.

Hunter wants to play both offense and defense full-time, which seems unlikely in the NFL, but he would improve either position room, or both, in Las Vegas. If he can be convinced to focus primarily on one side of the ball, his potential to excel seems limitless given his maturity, athleticism and instincts. 

ASHTON JEANTY, RB, BOISE STATE

What a difference a season makes. Just six months ago, the running back position was considered one of the least valuable in football, with top performers settling for contracts that paid far less than top-tier quarterbacks and receivers. Many pundits turned their nose up at the idea of burning a first-round pick on one.

But that was before Saquon Barkley, Jahmyr Gibbs, Derrick Henry, Bijan Robinson and Josh Jacobs turned that narrative on its head.

The five ball carriers—three free agents and two 2023 first-round draft picks—combined for 9,884 yards from scrimmage and 84 touchdowns last season and reestablished the worth of their position. Four of the five led their teams to the playoffs, and Barkley’s Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl.

It’s true that Raiders general manager John Spytek was part of the Tampa Bay management team that put together a formidable rushing attack featuring mid-round picks Rachaad White and Bucky Irving (and even got a 136-yard game out of undrafted rookie free agent Sean Tucker). It’s also true that coach Pete Carroll’s teams in Seattle only drafted one running back in the first round. But Carroll also had former first-rounder Marshawn Lynch for six years with the Seahawks, winning one Super Bowl and coming within one play of securing a second Lombardi Trophy.

Jeanty has the tape, the productivity, the character and the work ethic to be a slam dunk.

ARMAND MEMBOU, OT, MISSOURI

WILL CAMPBELL, OT, LSU

The Raiders’ failure to move the ball on the ground last year can’t completely be attributed to Jacobs leaving for more greenbacks in Green Bay. After all, Zamir White saw his average gain per carry plummet from 4.3 yards in 2023 to 2.8 in 2024. Alexander Mattison was never considered a dynamic runner in Minnesota, but his 3.2 yards per carry in Las Vegas was easily a career low.

Injuries to starting offensive linemen contributed heavily to the skill players’ inability to move the ball, which speaks to the team’s need for greater depth. Additionally, stalwart left tackle Kolton Miller is entering the final year of his contract, so the team must be prepared for the possibility that he isn’t wearing the Silver and Black in 2026.

Membou, who played right tackle in college, has a similar athletic profile as Detroit’s Penei Sewell, whohas been first-team all-pro the past two years.

Campbell, who was first-team all-SEC twice and first-team all-America as a junior, finished his collegiate career on a streak of 24 games without allowing a sack. He’s two inches taller than Membou but his arm length, measured at the NFL Combine, was almost an inch shorter. That could give Raider fans Robert Gallery PTSD. The former second overall pick was considered a generational talent coming out of Iowa, but the one criticism of him was that his arms (32 inches) did not match his height (6-foot-7). He struggled at tackle and eventually moved to guard, starting 103 games over an eight-year career but never living up to his draft hype.

WILL JOHNSON, CB, MICHIGAN

Johnson wore the number 2 at Michigan, and greatness is expected of players who wear that number. Johnson has prototypical NFL size and collegiate productivity, playing at a position of need for the Raiders. With starter Jack Jones having been cut and Nate Hobbs having left in free agency, the Raiders have just Jakorian Bennett, Decamerion Richardson, M.J. Devonshire, Kyu Blu Kelly, Eric Stokes and Darnay Holmes on the roster at cornerback. Bennett made strides last season before a shoulder injury ended his season in November.

Johnson lived up to the expectations set for him as a Wolverine, helping the team win a national championship and setting the school record for pick-sixes.

If he’s the pick at No. 6, he will be the highest-drafted cornerback the franchise has made since another defender who wore 2 at Michigan: Woodson.

THE PREDICTION

If Jeanty is not the pick, it may only be because this draft also features potential stars to be had in the second round at the position: Cam Skattebo of Arizona State, Kaleb Johnson of Iowa, and Ohio State’s Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson, who played for offensive coordinator Chip Kelly during last year’s national championship season for the Buckeyes.

Jeanty is special, and you can never have too many special players, no matter what position they play. The Raiders drafted Brock Bowers 13th last year, even though tight end wasn’t considered a position of need for the team. That worked out. Take the special player.

This story originally appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.