Insider lists two players potentially higher than Ashton Jeanty on Raiders big board

The Las Vegas Raiders are kicking off the Pete Carroll era with running back Ashton Jeanty now manning the backfield.

The sixth overall pick in the draft, Jeanty was linked to the Raiders for the better part of two months before the draft. After the trade for quarterback Geno Smith effectively removed quarterback from first-round consideration, Jeanty was immediately connected to the Raiders. With the worst rushing attack in the league last year, Carroll and general manager John Spytek showed how committed they were to solving the problem by drafting Jeanty so high.

However, the Raiders had some alternate strategies depending on how the board fell for them.

An insider revealed the top five prospects on the Raiders’ draft board

According to Sports Illustrated’s Hondo Carpenter, Jeanty was one of three prospects the Raiders were considering drafting with the sixth overall pick.

“I think if they walked away with [Miami quarterback] Cam Ward, if they walked away with [Penn State edge rusher] Abdul Carter, they walked away with Jeanty, they were going to be happy. I think they would have taken Abdul and then Cam Ward.” said Carpenter.

Ward and Carter were also elite prospects, but Jeanty was always the most likely of the three to end up with the Raiders.

Ward was never a realistic proposition, as the Tennessee Titans were zoomed in on him with the first overall pick. Carter ended up going third overall to the New York Giants, but only after the Jacksonville Jaguars traded up to the second overall pick to select wide receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter. The Raiders could have done so to take Carter, but the price tag of a second and an extra first to move up four spots was too much to justify.

Given rumors of Jeanty potentially being a target for teams looking to trade up, Carpenter also listed some contingency plans.

“And if Jeanty wouldn’t have been there, you know, a [Michigan defensive tackle] Mason Graham, a [Georgia edge rusher] Jalon Walker… [but] probably Jalon.”

Graham went fifth overall to the Cleveland Browns, while Walker slid all the way to the 15th pick to the Atlanta Falcons.

What is interesting to note is the lack of offensive tackle on the list. The Raiders were linked to Missouri offensive tackle Armand Membou and Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks late, but neither were mentioned by Carpenter as being on the board. Perhaps they were considered in the event the contract impasse between the Raiders and left tackle Kolton Miller got worse, but it is also possible the team exaggerated the holdout to engineer a smokescreen for teams wanting an offensive lineman.

Whatever the case may be, the Raiders walked away from the first round with one of their top targets, so they had to come out happy about how the draft played out.