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The Las Vegas Raiders come with two options ahead of the April 24 NFL Draft. Stay idle at sixth overall or send shockwaves across the league and trade up in the draft.
This is the first major April decision involving the new trio of John Spytek, Pete Carroll, and Tom Brady, all as the new general manager, head coach and co-owner collaboration in Vegas. We're swinging toward the theory the Raiders will pull off a trade.
Aidan O'Connell is rumored to become a draft day trade already. We're also believing the Raiders will get aggressive and attempt to make a splash move now that there's new leadership in place.
The Raiders need to pull off a move that speaks to how serious they are about changing the culture. Here's what we're thinking in coming up with the perfect draft trade for the Raiders.
Raiders hold off on trading Aidan O'Connell but move inside Top 5
O'Connell won't be a Day 1 draft trade, not with a 7-10 overall mark as a starter. He's likely not going to command significant attention.
But instead, Carroll convinces the Raiders to get aggressive and pull off this decision to galvanize the franchise: Vegas moves to No. 2 in a deal with the Cleveland Browns.
The AFC North franchise trades down to six plus gains the Raiders' No. 37 pick and lands next year's 2026 first-rounder. The Silver and Black then grabs Travis Hunter in return as part of this deal.
The Browns are in no dire need of a quarterback with Joe Flacco recently re-added and DeShaun Watson back. That rules out O'Connell becoming a part of this deal. Cleveland GM Andrew Berry instead goes after draft capital in this decision.
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He receives a second selection in Round 2, then gets assurance Cleveland receives an additional first-rounder for April 2026. Vegas, meanwhile, relinquishes its second-rounder to sweeten the deal. But this is still a trade capable of changing the Raiders' fortunes.
Raiders land epic game-changing talent to bolster 2 needed areas
The Raiders are entering the draft needing wide receiver help. They also have lacked a consistent playmaking cornerback for a while. Hunter bolsters both spots — as college football fans watched him dominate both positions weekly.
This move also gives the Raiders Charles Woodson flashbacks. Woodson entered the league delivering his own receiving/defending prowess. The future Hall of Famer ultimately settled for cornerback. Yet the Raiders used his versatility early. Woodson emerged as one of the more dominating Raiders performers and now has a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
New Raiders quarterback Geno Smith gets a much-needed playmaker to throw to. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham even gets a game-changing CB capable of becoming the new Woodson. The Raiders, overall, spark new intrigue from the fan base by landing Hunter in this scenario.
Hunter previously got plugged to the Raiders at sixth in a mock draft. But it's unlikely Hunter will drop all the way to No. 6. The Colorado and Jackson State star isn't expected to land lower than fifth overall. Rhett Lewis of the NFL Network also calls for the Raiders to pull this off in his mock draft.
If Spytek and Brady dial up a trade, this looks like the perfect one. Hunter gives Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, and Bo Nix a new CB to worry about in the AFC West and gives defenses someone to stay up all night for in wondering how to counter Hunter. This is a perfect roll of the dice in a city known for gambling.
