Raiders’ Rooting Guide for 2025 NFL Draft Implications of Week 9

Raiders’ Rooting Guide for 2025 NFL Draft Implications of Week 90 of 4

Antonio PierceTony Ding/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

If we’re being completely honest, the Las Vegas Raiders are one of the most disappointing teams of the 2024 NFL campaign.

The decision to hire Antonio Pierce as the head coach of the Raiders brought with it the promise of building on a strong close to the 2023 season. With Pierce as interim head coach the Raiders rallied to go 5-4 over their final nine games of the season last year.

Unfortunately, that success has not carried over this season. Injuries have played a role, but the Raiders are now 2-6, clearly need an answer at quarterback and are in the running for a top-five pick.

In reality, a top-five pick might not be the worst-case scenario for this team. The free agent market isn’t going to produce many starting-level quarterbacks and the answer doesn’t appear to be on the roster right now.

So as we head to the back half of the season, the Raiders faithful will probably be looking at the draft order very closely.

Here’s a rooting guide for the top results that would be helpful to their draft outlook.

Current Top 10 Draft Order1 of 4

John Smolek/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

1, Carolina Panthers (1-7)

2. Tennessee Titans (1-6)

3. New England Patriots (2-6)

4. Cleveland Browns (2-6)

5. New York Jets (2-6)

6. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6)

7. Las Vegas Raiders (2-6)

8. New York Giants (2-6)

9. New Orleans Saints (2-6)

10. Miami Dolphins (2-5)

Saints over Panthers2 of 4

Derek CarrCooper Neill/Getty Images

For those watching the draft order, the NFC South matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers is the game of the week. The two clubs have combined to win three games thus far this season.

You could make the argument that the Raiders should be rooting for the Panthers to win this game. ESPN’s draft projections give the Panthers the highest odds to get the No. 1 pick at 45 percent.

The Raiders, despite having just one more win than the Panthers, only have a 5.3 percent chance of getting the top pick.

A Panthers win would obviously improve those chances, but a Saints loss would add another contender to the top-five pick mix. The Saints are getting Derek Carr back in the lineup after the quarterback missed the last three games.

Carr says he is “no savior” and a segment of Raider Nation might agree with him, but getting Carr back and losing to the last-place Carolina Panthers would be a massive blow for New Orleans.

The Saints went 0-3 in the three games that Spencer Rattler started and 2-3 in the five games that he has. The Saints are much closer to a .500 team when they have Carr at quarterback. If they can return to that form then they aren’t a threat to jump the Raiders in the draft order.

Browns over Chargers3 of 4

Jameis WinstonNick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images

Week 9 can really be seen as an inflection point for some teams. For instance, the Cleveland Browns are just 2-6, but a win over the Los Angeles Chargers could bring some real hope for the franchise to compete over the second half of the season.

Deshaun Watson suffered a ruptured Achilles in Week 7 that brought an end to his season. Jameis Winston came in as the starter last week and led the team to a 29-24 win over he Baltimore Ravens.

Those Ravens are ranked seventh in the latest edition of the Bleacher Report power rankings.

The Browns not only switched to Winston as the starting quarterback, but named Ken Dorsey as the team’s play-caller over head coach Kevin Stefanski. The new quarterback-play-caller duo rejuvenated the offense as Winston had over 330 yards through the air and three touchdowns with no interceptions.

Throw in the return of Nick Chubb and there are a lot of reasons for the Browns to be optimistic.

That optimism could make them a dangerous team over the back half of the season. It could also help them to win some games and stop competing with the Raiders for a top 10 pick.

Jaguars over Eagles4 of 4

Tank Bigsby takes a handoff from Trevor LawrenceChris Leduc/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

There’s a trend here. If you were to boil it down, the Raiders should be rooting for the teams that are good enough on paper to find some form of contention. The Saints, Browns and Jaguars all have better rosters on paper than the results they are finding on the field.

The bad news is that the Jaguars may already be folding up the tents. They swung a trade to send Cam Robinson to the Minnesota Vikings this week, leaving an already struggling offensive line with even fewer options.

Fortunately, Walker Little has done well when called upon. He should be able to supplement for the loss of Robinson.

However, the Jaguars do not have an easy draw on Sunday. The Philadelphia Eagles will host the struggling Jags with a chance to stay in stride with the Washington Commanders atop the NFC East.

If Jacksonville can upset the Eagles it might be enough to get their season turned around and rally around Doug Pederson. If not, the Jags are going to be a real threat to finish with a worse record than the Raiders and bump them down the draft board.