Insider suggests Raiders lean on Chip Kelly’s connections to solve RB issue:

The Las Vegas Raiders had one of the worst offenses in the league last season. This was in part due to poor quarterback play, but the unit’s complete inability to run the ball made the team one-dimensional. Las Vegas only mustered 79.8 yards per game on the ground, which put even more pressure on the subpar quarterbacks that the team had under center. Because the crop of free agents was relatively weak, many teams, including the Raiders, began to divert their attention to the running backs in the NFL Draft. The class is supposed to have one of the deepest groups at the position in recent memory, and Las Vegas would be smart to take advantage. Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty is the headliner, and he is the player who is most frequently projected to be taken by Las Vegas with the No. 6 pick. However, in such a talented class, one NFL insider suggested that the Raiders should lean on a key connection they have to solve their running back woes. On Thursday, Albert Breer from Sports Illustrated addressed several fan questions, one of which concerned Las Vegas’ options in the first round. Breer suggested that the Raiders should avoid a running back with the No. 6 pick and take one of Chip Kelly’s old backs in the second round instead. “I don’t know that the Raiders, right now, are in a position to draft a running back that high,” said Breer. “There’s a lot of depth in the running back class, so they could come back and get one of the Ohio State running backs, get a Quinshon Judkins or maybe a TreVeyon Henderson.” Pete Carroll hired Kelly to be the Raiders’ offensive coordinator this season after his impressive campaign with Ohio State last year. He helped lead the Buckeyes to a National Championship, and his use of Judkins and Henderson was a major component of their success. Raider Nation is currently divided on whether or not the team should select Jeanty with the No. 6 pick. On the one hand, he is a generational talent, but on the other, he has low positional value and the team has a slew of other needs.Both Judkins and Henderson could be Week 1 starters for the Raiders as well, and they would be more familiar with Kelly’s offense right off the bat. Last season, the two split time, but they both collected over 1,200 all-purpose yards, however, Judkins had 16 touchdowns, whereas Henderson only recorded 11. The good news is that if Jeanty is not available at No. 6 or the franchise opts to go in a different direction, they have this connection to fall back on. Las Vegas needs a starting running back to pair with Raheem Mostert and Sincere McCormick, but they may have to wait until the second round to get him. as Vegas instead traded for Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith and extended him for up to $85.5 million, shutting the door on trading up for a rookie signal-caller. Sanders’ stock has begun to fall in the months and weeks leading up to the draft, which led some to believe that the Raiders could take Sanders at No. 6 and replicate a Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix Jr. scenario. This is not likely to unfold for the Silver and Black, however. Despite a report that the team was meeting with Sanders, FanDuel Sportsbook recently updated their NFL Draft odds for each team, as well as individual players, and they indicate that Sanders being drafted by Las Vegas is incredibly unlikely.The odds-on favorite to land Sanders is the Saints, followed by the Giants, Steelers, Jets, Browns and Rams. Las Vegas is seventh on the list, just ahead of the Seahawks, but the odds are a longshot.Not to mention, the odds for what position the Raiders are most likely to draft first are available, and a quarterback is nowhere on the list. Running back, cornerback, offensive line, linebacker, defensive line and wide receiver are all more likely than Las Vegas taking a signal-caller in the first round. According to FanDuel, the Raiders are the most likely team to select Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty with the No. 6 pick, which means that the team would have to pass on Sanders if he is available.At one point in the offseason, it seemed like Sanders to Las Vegas was almost a guarantee and that the interest between the two camps was mutual. However, things change fast in the NFL, and any notion of the Colorado quarterback joining the Silver and Black feels like a distant memory.In the NFL Draft, anything can happen, and odds are just odds. But the good folks in Las Vegas are not in the business of losing money, so they wouldn’t give high odds to anything that is likely to happen. It was no secret that the Las Vegas Raiders needed a leadership change this offseason after a devastating four-win campaign in 2024. Owner Mark Davis provided just that in early February as he hired a duo of Pete Carroll and John Spytek to revive the franchise.Things got off to a rocky start for the new regime, however, when the team lost half of its defensive starters in the first week of free agency. Some in Raider Nation complained about the team’s lack of activity on the open market, but Carroll and Spytek held firm as they refused to overpay players. Good NFL teams build their rosters through the draft, and that is seemingly the plan for the Raiders’ new decision-makers. With plenty of great options set to be available when Las Vegas is on the clock with the No. 6 pick, the Silver and Black truly cannot go wrong. However, some scenarios are more likely to play out on draft night than others. FanDuel Sportsbook recently updated their odds for the NFL Draft, and they indicate that the Raiders have only two legitimate options in the first round. Based on the betting odds, Las Vegas will either select Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty or Michigan cornerback Will Johnson with their first pick. Not only is Jeanty’s most likely landing spot with the Raiders, but the odds also indicate that Las Vegas is most likely to pick a running back with the No. 6 pick. Cornerback is the second-most likely position for the Raiders to select, and Johnson is widely considered the best in the class. These odds are fluid and will change in the weeks leading up to the draft, but the fact remains that Las Vegas has two holes in their roster that can be filled by great players in the first round. Jeanty ran for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns last season, and despite finishing second in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Colorado’s Travis Hunter, many feel that he is one of the best overall prospects in the draft. It is a deep running back class, which gives some fans pause about selecting one so early, but all signs point to him being a generational talent. Johnson missed the second half of the season in 2024, but over the last year and a half, he recorded seven passes defended and six interceptions, three of which he returned for a touchdown. He’s a tall player who has great ball skills, but oftentimes he can be too aggressive. Still, he would be an instant starter on the Raiders’ defense and has all the makings of a shutdown corner. Odds cannot account for every scenario, as trading up or down the draft board would throw things for a loop. But if both of these players are available when the Raiders are on the clock with the No. 6 pick, the franchise truly cannot go wrong with either. The Las Vegas Raiders are one of a few teams in the 2025 NFL Draft who could spend a ton of time studying the incoming quarterback class. Ohio State quarterback Will Howard is one name that will generate a great deal of interest. Howard, fresh off winning a national championship with the Buckeyes, has risen from a Day 3 dart throw after his Kansas State tenure to a player who is garnering some consideration as a possible Top 100 pick. Teams will likely be enticed by a player with his level of experience and pedigree, but there are some red flags that need to be taken care of if he is going to be a starter.