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Following a disappointing 2024 season, the Las Vegas Raiders have made some big changes to their coaching staff early on in the offseason in an effort to ensure 2025 goes a bit smoother. Once the Raiders hired Pete Carroll as their new head coach, a glimpse of optimism stretched across Nevada, giving new life to a team that's struggled since moving from Oakland.
On Sunday, the Raiders hired Chip Kelly to be their new offensive coordinator, and one NFL analyst for ESPN had his prediction ready for who Las Vegas will pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, believing that Kelly will reunite with one of his former Ohio State Buckeyes running backs.
“With the 37th pick in the NFL draft, the Raiders select TreVeyon Henderson, running back, Ohio State,” ESPN's Bill Barnwell wrote on X.
The Raiders are slated to make the sixth pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. So, while they could select a quarterback in the first round, Barnwell expects the Raiders to reunite Kelly with Henderson in the second round of the draft.
As the 2025 National Champions, Ohio State was full of talent on both sides of the ball. And with Kelly joining the Raiders, there's a chance he could reunite with one of his Buckeye running backs. One of the hotter names in the 2025 NFL Draft is Quinshon Judkins, who had a strong performance in the National Championship Game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Totaling 121 yards and three touchdowns from scrimmage against Notre Dame, Judkins' draft stock skyrocketed, as some were even claiming he could be better than Ashton Jeanty — a Heisman Trophy finalist.
—I'd draft Quinshon Judkins before Ashton Jeanty.
—He was the best SEC freshman tailback since Herschel Walker.
—He drags folks on yards after contact like Achilles did Hector around the walls of Troy.
—He's got a stiff arm like Derrick Henry.
— RJ Young (@RJ_Young) January 24, 2025
And while people have the right to their opinions, there's an argument to make that Judkins might not have even been the best running back on his team.
Quinshon Judkins
2022: 13 games, 274 rushes, 1,567 rushing yards, 16 rushing TDs, 15 receptions, 132 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD
2023: 13 games, 271 rushes, 1,158 rushing yards, 15 rushing TDs, 22 receptions, 149 receiving yards, 2 receiving TD
2024: 16 games, 194 rushes, 1,060 rushing yards, 14 rushing TDs, 22 receptions, 161 receiving yards, 2 receiving TD
TreVeyon Henderson
2021: 13 games, 183 rushes, 1,248 rushing yards, 15 rushing TDs, 27 receptions, 312 receiving yards, 4 receiving TDs
2022: 8 games, 107 rushes, 571 rushing yards, 6 rushing TDs, 4 receptions, 28 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD
2023: 10 games, 156 rushes, 926 rushing yards, 11 rushing TDs, 19 receptions, 229 receiving yards, 0 receiving TDs
2024: 16 games, 144 rushes, 1,016 rushing yards, 10 rushing TDs, 27 receptions, 284 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD
When looking solely at the stats, Judkins could be the clear pick if a team got tasked with deciding which Ohio State running back they'd draft.
However, something about draft evaluations to remember is it's important to look at traits rather than just production. If teams solely look at production and don't care about the traits of each player, gems can get overlooked because they didn't produce enough.
So, while some people could see the Raiders reuniting Kelly with Judkins, Barnwell sees Las Vegas taking his counterpart: TreVeyon Henderson.
