The Las Vegas Raiders have been bad for so long that fans are hardly phased by another brutal season. In fact, they are quite accustomed to following college prospects, revving up the mock draft machine and being on "tank watch" roughly halfway through the campaign every year.
With a 2-7 record and practically no chance of making the playoffs in 2025, Raider Nation has largely begun looking toward the future once again. While not hoping that their team loses each week, fans understand the potential long-term implications of having one of the top picks in next April's draft.
Having a selection in the top three would almost guarantee a promising young quarterback for the Silver and Black. But with eight games left in the season, there are plenty of bad teams in contention for these heralded picks, and things just got more interesting for Las Vegas' Week 17 matchup.
Raiders facing Brian Daboll-less Giants may have serious draft implications
Las Vegas' penultimate game in the 2025 NFL season will be against the New York Giants at Allegiant Stadium. New York is also struggling this year, as the team sits at 2-8 and currently owns the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, whereas the Raiders hold the No. 6 pick.
On Monday morning, however, the Giants announced that they were firing head coach Brian Daboll and promoting offensive coordinator Mike Kafka to be the team's interim head coach. This adds a thick layer of intrigue for the Raiders' Week 17 bout against New York.
Tanking obviously isn't allowed in the NFL, but both teams will surely have their draft position at the forefront of their minds as their respective underwhelming seasons wind down. The Giants were bad under Daboll, and there is a chance that they'll be worse under Kafka.
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However, sometimes teams catch lightning in a bottle under their interim coach, and for the sake of the Raiders' draft position, fans may hope that the Giants figure something out. Every game counts, especially when there are six teams with two wins or fewer so far this season.
The silver lining is that New York does not need a quarterback, as they have Jaxson Dart, so Las Vegas does not need to worry about the Giants taking one of the young signal-callers they may covet. But the fewer teams in the way, the better, as trade-ups happen all the time in the draft.
A good portion of Raider Nation may have seen this news and thought to themselves, "Man, Giants fans are so lucky that their head coach got fired!" But more importantly, this move sets the stage for a critical Week 17 matchup that may have long-term ramifications for both franchises.