The Las Vegas Raiders fans aren't particularly happy with the fact that the team won on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars. With the win, it dropped them to No. 6 in the 2025 NFL Draft order. It's still possible the Raiders will move up but the No. 1 pick is essentially out of reach now.
Obviously, it's always better to have a higher draft, especially for a team that needs a quarterback like Las Vegas. However, the Raiders may have saved themselves from making a major mistake.
Had the team gotten the No. 1 pick, they'd almost certainly use it to draft Colorado's Shedeur Sanders or Miami's Cam Ward. While both could end up being very good players, neither are considered very high-end quarterback prospects.
The Athletic's Dane Brugler has Ward as the No. 16 ranked player in the class and Sanders at No. 23. It would be a major reach to use the No. 1 pick on a quarterback who isn't even considered one of the top-15 players in the class.
The Raiders desperately do need a quarterback but the only thing worse than not having a quarterback is using a high draft pick on a quarterback who isn't any good. That could set the franchise back years. There are far too many recent first-round quarterback draft busts to guarantee that drafting one will work.
It's entirely possible that Ward and/or Sanders can come into the NFL be elite quarterbacks but it's also very possible they'll be below average. The 2026 quarterback class could be much more appealing with names like Arch Manning, Nico Iamaleava, Garrett Nussmeier and Drew Allar possibly being available.
The Raiders are not a quarterback away from being Super Bowl contenders and have many needs. It's easy to understand why fans are growing impatient. The team is in quarterback purgatory and they haven't won a playoff game in over two decades.
But Raiders fans should know well that drafting the wrong quarterback ends up in total disaster. Also, who's to say that Sanders or Ward won't fall in the draft? Getting one of them at the No. 6 pick is much better value than using the No. 1 pick on one of them.