While most Raiders fans spent May salivating over the players the franchise selected early in the 2025 NFL Draft, including Ashton Jeanty, Jack Bech, and Darien Porter, the truth is that any player can rise from anywhere in any draft class to take the league by storm. Tom Brady, the minority owner of the Raiders, is one obvious example of that.
However, it’s also the players who come out of nowhere in a surprise form that can leave opponents wondering which way is up. One new Raiders rookie added in the final stretch of the 2025 NFL Draft could emerge to be a stunner at the perfect moment in the 2025 season.
The name of the player? Touchdown Tommy.
Speaking to Raiders media in a one-on-one interview with team reporter Levi Edwards, Tommy Mellott claimed that he was given the nickname “Touchdown Tommy” as a recruiting tactic.
“It was a kind of a recruiting tactic from the Montana State staff when I was a junior and senior in high school. I had success within Montana football, I was the Gatorade Player of the Year, and I think it’s a common nickname for guys named Tommy. The nickname was brought up even before I got to Montana State.”
“When I got there, the last game of the season, we did some wildcat stuff, and I ended up scoring three touchdowns in a game against Idaho. Troy Anderson, who was our star [player], he’s playing for the Atlanta Falcons now, he was in a meeting room and termed it right then and there. After that, I became the starting quarterback in the playoffs, and we went to the national championship game.”
Tommy Mellott’s Role With the Raiders Could Change Outcomes
Mellott, who is working to be a wide receiver for the Raiders, spent his college career as a quarterback, turning in the best touchdown-interception ratio of his career in 2024 with 22 touchdowns and one interception.
Mellott’s quarterbacking experience could come in handy for the Raiders at the biggest moments, offering a tight spiral on a trick passing play when the Raiders have their backs against the wall.
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Sean Payton, who popularized the QB-pass catcher player in New Orleans with Taysom Hill, could be kicking himself that the Raiders landed Mellott. Now, he may need to defend against a taste of his own medicine when the Raiders face the Broncos twice in 2025.
Of course, as a likely trick player first, “Joker” hybrid player on every down and distance second, the Raiders will have the perfect element of surprise heading into 2025. The question is when Pete Carroll could choose to announce Mellott to the world and how.