Turns out picking one of the best players in the draft is a smart idea.
That's the general premise of ESPN's latest post-draft rankings, which dropped early on Wednesday morning. Now that every team has the next seven guys that'll all definitely be All-Pros, ESPN logged on and decided to rank ... most? ... of the picks from last weekend in a wildly subjective way. And you thought Draft SZN was over.
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But this isn't the time for making fun of ESPN – that comes later. For now, we can find a little common ground thanks, of course, to Ashton Jeanty. The Raiders' first round pick has almost single-handedly brought an unfamiliar wave of excitement to the team's offseason – though that's being awfully unfair to Geno Smith – and ESPN knows a star when they see one. That'd probably explain why they ranked the pick as the third best in the entire draft. That's so many picks! Here's their explanation.
ESPN ranked Raiders' Ashton Jeanty pick as the 3rd best in entire 2025 NFL Draft
"Not only did Jeanty represent obvious value, but he also fills a team need. The Raiders' new brass -- coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly -- want a power running game, and Jeanty was the clear top back in the class. He'll be heavily featured as a runner and a receiver while bringing the culture Carroll wants to establish in Las Vegas."
Notably enough, Jeanty was the only top 10 pick to end up in the top 5 of this new, way better list. And the only first round pick in the top 3! I'm not sure I really get the point of this exercise, but any ranking that actually gives the Raiders credit for literally anything is fine with me. Bringing Tom Brady on board is already paying off.
The Raiders don't show up again on this list until #77 (JJ Pegues) but that's okay. What's important is that everyone agrees that Jeanty is a star, and that he'll probably be a borderline All-Pro/MVP candidate almost immediately. At least I assume that's what this list is about – admittedly, I didn't read it all that closely. I just saw Jeanty at three and blacked out a little. This season's going to rule.