The Las Vegas Raiders have a legit shot at having one of the best rookie classes in the entire league. When you look at the makeup of the class, they are all players who follow the philosophy that head coach Pete Carroll has in place.
They drafted guys that fit some of the physical profiles they love, but also embody the same cultural beliefs that they have in place when it comes to work ethic and team morale. The Raiders are really set up to have a successful 2025 season because of their draft class.
All of their picks could end up making the 53-man roster in 2025, and most of them could end up being players that have some sort of impact when we look back on it a few years from now. But for rookie seasons, there are two guys not named Ashton Jeanty who are really standing out after mandatory minicamp.
"Dont'e [Thornton Jr.] and Jack [Bech], they did their stuff," Pete Carroll told reporters at mandatory minicamp. "You know, it's a good-looking group, and the idea is to force those guys to play early and make them have to play, and to do that well, you have to ask them to do things they're good at.
"If you just ask them to try to do everything that a veteran knows, they're going to falter and they're not going to be able to show themselves. But if you do it in a progressive manner that gives them a chance to show, then by the time we get to mid-season, those guys can be regulars for us."
The offense is easily the most important thing for this team in 2025. Last year, they were very bad on that side of the ball -- maybe the worst in the league. Getting former Seattle Seahawks QB Geno Smith certainly fixes some of the issues. Gardner Minshew, who is now on the Kansas City Chiefs, ironically, was never going to be the answer, but instead, was one of the many problems
They added former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly, who just won a National Championship with Ohio State, as their offensive coordinator. Ashton Jeanty will certainly make a difference, too. Then there are the wide receivers that they just drafted -- those guys could really help get this offense at least back to league average, if not better.
Thornton's speed and ability to create something out of nothing in the deep game will be huge. Bech's ability to play any spot when it comes to being a receiver and running crisp routes will be huge. This offense could be very good.
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