Raiders trade up rumors continuing to heat up

At first, the pitches for the Las Vegas Raiders trading up to acquire Colorado two-way sensation Travis Hunter seemed ludicrous.

Sure, the Raiders have needs at both wide receiver and cornerback, which are the positions Hunter excelled at with the Buffaloes. The Heisman Trophy winner serving as the lockdown cornerback in Las Vegas, as well as a solid receiving option, felt like a pipe dream scenario. After Colorado’s Pro Day, it felt inevitable that Hunter was going to go second overall to the Cleveland Browns.

However, that has not stopped the rumors from persisting, almost to the point where it is more than just a remote possibility.

Another mock draft has the Raiders trading up for Hunter.

In NFL Network’s Rhett Lewis’s latest mock draft, he completes a projected trade that sees the Raiders trade up for the second overall pick and drafting Hunter.

“I’ve never made a mock trade before this one, but we’ve never seen a player like Hunter, who registers as the draft’s top prospect at both receiver and cornerback,” wrote Lewis. “It just so happens that those two positions are two of the Raiders’ biggest needs, so they aggressively move up to secure a two-for-one with this pick.”

The move would continue what has been an offseason of major moves for the Raiders.

Tom Brady serving his first offseason as minority owner of the Raiders has been noteworthy, with the future Hall of Famer doing his part to influence decisions. Pete Carroll coming in as head coach gives the Raiders added to the sudden legitimacy of the team, bolstered by the trade for quarterback Geno Smith in March. Adding Hunter to serve as the latest star attraction in Las Vegas would only add to the offseason fireworks.

If the Raiders do decide to make the move for Hunter, they would have no issue with him continuing to play on both sides of the ball. It is expected he would serve as their top cornerback, responsible for shutting down the best weapons on the opposition. Meanwhile, he would slot in comfortably with Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers to give Smith another option in the passing game.

It is unclear if the Raiders have any desire to move up or down the draft order, but being aggressive and making a play for Hunter would be the biggest story of the 2025 Draft.