2025 Team Previews: Las Vegas Raiders
Las Vegas Raiders 2025 Team Preview
All ADP data is courtesy of Fantasy Pros.
** = target in drafts at this ADP
Relevant Players
Ashton Jeanty, RB (ADP: 8, RB5): Jeanty is undoubtedly an elite rookie RB prospect, and rookie RBs with immediate paths to a bell cow workload are always valuable commodities. Now, with first round ADPs, things can go haywire quickly. There’s a lot of risk with investing such a high pick in a player who has never played NFL football before. It’s also rare to see a RB prospect that looks this complete and ready to dominate.
Jeanty has run wild at Boise State for two years, but his junior campaign last season was special. He ran for 2,601 yards, and amassed more than 2,700 yards from scrimmage while totaling 30 touchdowns. In a loaded rookie RB class, statistically nobody comes remotely close to Jeanty on the stat sheet. Jeanty has a durable build, he has enough speed to rip off chunk plays, and, most importantly, he has receiving chops that will keep him on the field in passing situations. He has also been drafted to a team with a brand new coaching regime that has Pete Carroll at the helm. That’s always a great thing for a lead back, because Carroll is sure to feed the beast often. It would be shocking if Jeanty isn’t a major fantasy contributor this season.
With that said, this ADP still gives me some pause. Drafting Jeanty at this ADP requires you to pass on the likes of Christian McCaffery, Derrick Henry and Jonathan Taylor. I can see the case for Jeanty performing at that level, but why bet on it so early when these other players have done it before? It’s not egregious based on his talent, but I am certainly not seeing value in the ADP.
Brock Bowers, TE (ADP: 16, TE1): Bowers was a league winner in 2024, putting together one of the greatest rookie TE campaigns in NFL history – 112 receptions, 1,194 yards, five touchdowns – and now his ADP reflects the talent. There is no doubt about Bowers being a tremendous difference maker, and a weekly advantage at a position that features tremendous volatility even among the top tier options. Bowers delivered 50+ receiving yards 11 times in 2024, five or more receptions 11 times, and drew at least five targets in all but two of his games. There is no debating the ceiling of Bowers, or his impact on a team. The question is whether securing the top TE available is worth an early Round 2 pick, which would mean passing on players at RB like Jonathan Taylor or Josh Jacobs, or at WR like Drake London or A.J. Brown.
With Bowers you’re pretty much getting a high-level WR at the TE position, and he’s getting an upgrade at QB (Geno Smith) and in overall coaching, so the ADP makes perfect sense. I cannot call him a value though, because there are TEs that I do like later on in the draft, and in those ranges the gap is larger between the RBs and WRs available now, vs. those options and Bowers.
Jakobi Meyers, WR (ADP: 88, WR40): Meyers is an underrated player, and has been for a long time. Despite catching passes from one of the worst collections of QBs in the NFL last year, and playing in an offense that lacked much talent beyond the rookie TE, Meyers scraped together his first ever 1,000-yard season. Meyers graded out as a Top 30 receiver per PFF, and is once again the WR1 for the Raiders, albeit not the top pass-catcher. There won’t be any surprise breakouts from Meyers, as we know who he is at this point, but at this ADP he makes a lot of sense for managers who have taken on some risks earlier in the draft and need players who can raise the floor.
Interesting Sleeper(s)
**Jack Bech, WR (ADP: 166, WR63): Bech is a prospect I really liked, but I’m less enthusiastic about his rookie season after he landed with the Raiders. On one hand, the WR room here should be conducive to him getting on the field. Beyond Meyers, there aren’t any players that should clearly play in front of him. The problem is that Bowers and Meyers are going to monopolize targets, Jeanty is going to be heavily involved as a receiver, and even though Geno Smith can support multiple pass catchers this offense figures to be run heavy. In addition to all that, Bech is not a big play receiver, so he’s a rookie who needs volume in a run heavy offense with established options in front of him.
Despite all that, he’s so good at certain things that he still is intriguing at this ADP. He was an 85th-percentile man beater last season, and he was also crushing zone at an 80.8% clip. Bech also defeated press coverage at nearly an 80% rate, so there is the possibility that he can earn the starting X receiver spot by Week 1. Bech suffers from a lack of elite speed, so his rates on nines and corner routes are underwhelming, but he was a monster on everything else. I’d be extremely bullish on Bech’s prospects if I could be sure of his opportunity, but this scenario has red flags. Bech will be worth a flier in your last three rounds, or if he goes undrafted and pops in Week 1 worth a healthy FAAB dump.
Notable Players
Geno Smith, QB (ADP: 150, QB26): Smith’s ADP reflects a lack of excitement for him that does make a lot of sense. He’s thrown 21 and 20 touchdown passes over the last two seasons, and he’ll turn 35 this season, so his rushing upside is diminishing. Smith is one of the league’s most accurate passers, and he’s a positive for Las Vegas’ young pass-catching corps. He is a very good value in two-QB or SuperFlex formats, because he’ll have some big spike games in the right matchups, but he can be ignored in single-QB leagues. For Smith to be a QB1 he would need to have a TD explosion that he just hasn’t shown he’s capable of beyond a single 30-TD campaign that happened three years ago.
Dont’e Thornton, WR (ADP: 211): Thornton is big and fast and his 25.4 yards per reception at Tennessee are eye-opening. But I’m not fooled. Thornton’s physical tools are fascinating, but I’ve turned into skeletal remans waiting for Jalin Hyatt to pop for the Giants, and I’m getting déjà vu with this player.
Tennessee’s offense is very unique in it’s usage of these speedster receivers, and Thornton’s route tree is bananas. He ran 43.5% curls, 19.6% digs, 13% posts and 13% nines. He didn’t run a single corner route, out route, or comeback route, and checked in at under five percent on slants, flats and screens. He looks like an X receiver, but how can you play that role with basically no slant reps? To me, he looks like a big fast guy the Raiders will send hopelessly deep to keep defenses from loading the box. He will not get many targets, the ones he does get will be low-percentage, and he’s yet to show the chops to affect the game in other ways.
Tre Tucker, WR (ADP: 299, WR98): Tucker had some moments last season where he flashed, but in an offense that had nothing of substance behind Meyers in the WR pecking order Tucker failed to establish himself. The Raiders drafting Thornton and Bech in this year’s draft gives us all the info we need as to where Tucker stands, and it’s telling us he’s a depth player. You can safely ignore Tucker in just about any format, as I simply don’t see any ceiling.
Michael Mayer, TE (ADP: N/A): Mayer had buzz when he was drafted, but his rookie year was nothing notable, and then Brock Bowers entered the fray. Mayer might see a value spike if Bowers got hurt, almost like a TE handcuff, but even in that scenario the hype for Mayer would be all speculation. He’s never shown difference making ability on an NFL field, hence this non-existent ADP.
Handcuffs
Raheem Mostert, RB (ADP: 240, RB70): Mostert had 21 touchdowns in 2023. Let that sink in. He’s no spring chicken, as Mostert was a rookie in 2015. He has shockingly few miles on the odometer though, as he rarely got action until joining the Dolphins for the second time in 2022. Mostert has only topped the 200-carry mark once, in 2023, and should he have to assume the lead role in the event of a Jeanty injury he’s capable. Mostert’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but he has world class speed, he can catch the ball a little, and he knows how to punch it in the end zone. A fine handcuff.
Sincere McCormick, RB (ADP: N/A): McCormick had a brief moment in the sun last season when the Raiders had nowhere to turn and had to lean on him. In Weeks 12-13 vs. the Chiefs and Buccaneers, both road games, McCormick posted 12 carries for 64 yards and 15 carries for 78 yards, respectively. In that limited action McCormick graded as the Raiders’ best back, and if disaster strikes and Jeanty does get hurt it’s not impossible to think McCormick takes over rather than Mostert.
Zamir White, RB (ADP: N/A): White was a Top 70 pick last season, checking in as the RB23 off the board at the time of the Raiders’ preview. He stunk, playing in just eight games and putting up 183 yards and a touchdown. He is now a total afterthought, as are all of these possible handcuffs if Jeanty doesn’t get injured. However, as of today he’s still around and someone you may want to consider if you’re interested in handcuffing Jeanty.