Raiders miss out on Shedeur Sanders but still land franchise QB in new ESPN mock draft

Since Maxx Crosby officially ended the Raiders season, I feel safe to start talking about the draft. I don't necessarily want to, but I think when you're 2-8, it's fair game. If you'd rather concentrate on the Raiders' upcoming game against the [checks notes] 9-1 Chiefs, don't let me get in the way.

But if you're already looking ahead to greener pastures, let me introduce you to ESPN's latest 2025 NFL mock draft. The worldwide leaders went all the way through the first round this time, predicting team-by-team picks. In this scenario, the Raiders don't have the #1 overall pick (yay?) and therefore miss out on Colorado QB Sheduer Sanders (aw). But! They still end up with one of the more exciting QB prospects from this year's draft, which is absolutely better than running back Gardner Minshew/Aidan O'Connell for another season.

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Raiders select Miami QB Cam Ward in 1st round of ESPN's latest 2025 mock draft

"[Ward] has displayed an ability to dial up velocity from the pocket and when throwing off-platform, allowing him to make throws few college quarterbacks would even attempt. At 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, he also has the body type to excel as a runner when the pocket breaks down. With 54 starts on his résumé, Ward should be ready to step right in and guide a Raiders team that is desperate for a new signal-caller after struggling with Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell this season."

Cam Ward! The 2nd-best QB in this year's draft! It would sadly end the fun game of Sanders tweeting the exact same thing after every single Raiders loss, but that's okay. Ward's quietly putting up an elite season with the Hurricanes, and has put together a prolific college career with over 17,000 passing yards, 150 passing touchdowns, and a completion percentage near 65%. Especially as the NFL comes to realize that maybe it's better to draft QBs with at least a little college experience, Ward checks all the boxes that the Raiders would want out of their next franchise guy.

It's not as exciting as taking Sanders with the first overall pick, but the idea of Ward running the show in Vegas is a lot more interesting than, say, thinking about how playing the Chiefs is going to go this weekend.