Going into the 2025 NFL Draft, the Las Vegas Raiders thought they had their quarterback problems solved when they traded for veteran quarterback Geno Smith this past offseason.
Before that trade, many had the Raiders taking then University of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders in the first round of the draft. All that seemed to go out of the window when the Raiders got Smith. But the first round was not the only opportunity the Silver and Black had of drafting Sanders.
Even with having Smith as their starter, they could still have drafted a quarterback to sit behind Smith and learn and develop. The Raiders did not go with that plan and instead went with selecting other position players. Sanders, by many’s surprise, dropped all the way to the fifth round of the draft, after being viewed as a first-round pick leading up to draft night. That is where the Raiders did not jump at the opportunity to draft him. Instead, he was selected by the Cleveland Browns.