Matt Miller projects Raiders passing on Ashton Jeanty for another playmaker in latest mock draft

The Las Vegas Raiders may choose dynamic pass-catching over a strong, powerful rusher when the NFL Draft rolls around in April. In the latest ESPN mock draft released on Thursday, Matt Miller projected the Raiders to go with Tetairoa McMillan over reigning Heisman finalist Ashton Jeanty.

While Miller acknowledges the Raiders will want to run the ball, he feels adding veteran Geno Smith as the starting quarterback means they’ll want to go to the air more often.

“Pete Carroll and Chip Kelly will want to run the ball, but they didn’t trade a third-round pick for quarterback Geno Smith to have him hand the ball off 35 times per game," Miller wrote. "The Raiders need receivers more than running backs."

Jeanty is one of the top-rated running backs heading into the draft, winning the Doak Walker Award for top running back in college in 2024.

McMillan had a pretty impressive 2024 campaign with the Arizona Wildcats, making 84 catches for 1,319 yards and eight touchdowns. He averaged a career-high 109.9 yards per game receiving and was named the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year.

The Raiders hold the sixth overall pick in the draft, finishing the previous campaign with a record of 4-13.

Raiders' receiving depth is their biggest priority

While the Raiders got a proven accurate passer with Geno Smith (70.4 completion percentage in 2024), he still needs some playmakers.

Last season, the receiver position was relatively sparse for Vegas, with Brock Bowers leading the team with 1,194 yards via the air. Jakobi Meyers followed with 1,027 receiving yards. Tre Tucker followed with 539 yards as their next leading pass-catcher. In 2024, those three combined for 12 touchdown catches for the Raiders.

At the same time, this team rarely got an effective running game throughout last season, with Alexander Mattison leading them with a mere 420 yards out of the backfield. The club let former First-team All-Pro running back Josh Jacobs sign with the Green Bay Packers in March 2024.

“McMillan has enough juice to make tacklers miss underneath. That, combined with his physicality and toughness at the catch point, would make him the Raiders’ instant WR1,” Miller said.

The Raiders made a massive investment on the defensive side of the ball by signing Maxx Crosby to a three-year extension worth $106.5 million in March.

McMillan was the first pure wide receiver on Miller’s mock draft board after Colorado’s Travis Hunter, who played receiver and cornerback in college and is projected to go at #4 to the New England Patriots.