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Ice Cube Reveals Which Polarizing Player He Was Hoping Raiders Would Draft

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Austin C. Boyd | Last updated May 22, 2025 4:26 PM ET

The Las Vegas Raiders were one of the teams most heavily linked to quarterback Shedeur Sanders ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft. Even with the Geno Smith trade, some still thought the team could draft Sanders.

They didn't take him in the first round but had eight other chances to take the quarterback. They decided against it.

It's easy to understand why the Raiders wouldn't want to use one of their picks in the first three rounds to select a quarterback, but once they got to the fourth, the risk would've been minimal compared to the potential reward.

Many Raiders fans had gotten sold on the idea of adding Sanders, and were disappointed that they didn't select him.

One of the fans most disappointed was iconic rapper Ice Cube. He really wanted Sanders in Las Vegas.

“It did bother me. I wanted him, but I understand,” Ice Cube said on "The Skip Bayless Show." “I can see from a coach’s point of view why not to take him, because you take him, you don’t have a good season or two, Deion’s getting your job. I think a lot of coaches were like ‘Nah, I don’t want to draft my replacement.'

“I think that might have been the biggest reason why he slipped. It wasn’t because of how he plays on the field. It was probably because they was scared to lose they job to Deion Sanders.”

Sanders ended up going to the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round, and it will likely be a few years before the Raiders truly know if they made a mistake passing on him or not.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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