With the 2025 NFL Draft just under three weeks away, the Las Vegas Raiders are diligently finalizing their draft strategies. This crucial period often sees NFL analysts engaging in more imaginative mock draft scenarios, as exemplified by ESPN’s Bill Barnwell in a recent article.
Barnwell’s piece explored a hypothetical trade for every single pick in the first round of the upcoming draft. This exercise serves as a valuable gauge of the perceived value of each selection and offers insights into which teams might be inclined to trade up or down the draft board come April 24th.
The Raiders find themselves in an intriguing position to potentially make a draft-day trade. On one hand, as a team undergoing a rebuild, the Raiders could benefit from trading down to accumulate more draft capital and expedite their roster reconstruction. On the other hand, Las Vegas might consider an aggressive move up the board to secure one of the draft’s elite, blue-chip prospects, particularly after witnessing the impactful rookie season of Brock Bowers in 2024.
The question then becomes, which player might entice the Raiders to trade up? Bill Barnwell’s trade proposal suggests a scenario where the Raiders send tight end Michael Mayer to the Cleveland Browns.
Las Vegas Raiders Draft Day Trade
Raiders receive:
- 2025 first-round pick (second overall)
- 2027 seventh-round pick (conditional)
Browns receive:
- TE Michael Mayer
- 2025 first-round pick (sixth overall)
- 2025 second-round pick (37th overall)
- 2026 fourth-round pick
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This proposal represents a significant investment for the Raiders to move up just four spots in the draft. Staying at their original sixth overall pick would still allow Las Vegas to select a talented player, with many analysts predicting they will choose Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty in that scenario.
Barnwell’s rationale for the trade centers on the opportunity for the Raiders to acquire a potentially generational talent like Travis Hunter.
“This is their chance to add a transcendent player,” Barnwell wrote. “Travis Hunter is probably not making it to No. 6, and new coach Pete Carroll — a legendary defensive backs coach — has been know to defy positional value if there’s a player he really loves in the secondary. (Remember, he once traded two first-round picks for Jamal Adams.)”
Barnwell further elaborated on Hunter’s unique skill set and the conditional pick involved in the trade. “Hunter would be an immediate hit at cornerback, and I’m sure Carroll would have few qualms about putting Hunter at wide receiver as well,” Barnwell added. “Las Vegas would also land a conditional pick that could turn into a fourth-rounder in 2027 if Mayer, who was drafted two regimes ago, racks up 600 receiving yards over the next two seasons in Cleveland.”
Travis Hunter is indeed a rare prospect, possessing exceptional two-way abilities as both a wide receiver and, arguably more impressively, as a cornerback, a role where Barnwell suggests he would be an immediate impact player for the Raiders. His versatility, demonstrated during his collegiate career at Colorado, makes him a highly coveted player. As Barnwell suggests, the Raiders could utilize Hunter primarily as a cornerback while incorporating him into the offense strategically.
With Eric Stokes, Jakorian Bennett, and Decamerion Richardson currently leading their cornerback depth chart, adding a lockdown cornerback like Hunter would be a significant upgrade for the Raiders’ defense, further enhanced by his potential offensive contributions.
From the Browns’ perspective, this trade offers considerable benefits. Faced with the disappointing outcome of the Deshaun Watson trade, acquiring a talented player like Mayer along with two additional draft picks for moving down just four spots represents a valuable return. At a minimum, the Browns can evaluate Mayer’s potential over the next few seasons while adding more players on cost-effective contracts as they potentially prepare for a future roster overhaul.