Raiders ignore draft uproar: ‘Don’t do this to lose’

HENDERSON, Nev. — Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce does not care one bit about his quarterback-needy team’s slot in the 2025 NFL draft slipping from No. 2 to No. 6 with its 19-14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

Even as Raiders fans howled loudly and negatively about the possibility of Las Vegas falling out of contention for the first overall pick and potentially selecting either Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders or Miami QB Cam Ward.

“We don’t do this to lose,” Pierce said Monday. “We don’t do this for anybody’s fantasy football team. We don’t do this for anybody’s draft projections. None of that s— matters to us. The only thing that matters is winning, and that’s all we want to do.”

The Raiders (3-12) snapped a 10-game losing streak, their longest such skid since 2014, with the win over the Jaguars, who fell to 3-12. Las Vegas also has wins over the Cleveland Browns (3-12) and Baltimore Ravens (10-5).

Per ESPN Research, the current draft order has the New York Giants (2-13) with the first overall pick, with the New England Patriots (3-12), Jaguars, Browns and Tennessee Titans (3-12) then picking ahead of the Raiders at No. 6.

The Raiders play at the New Orleans Saints (5-9) on Sunday before closing out the regular season at home against the Los Angeles Chargers (9-6), who may have already clinched a playoff berth by then.

The Raiders last held the No. 1 pick in 2007 and used it to select JaMarcus Russell. The Raiders have drafted only three quarterbacks in the first round since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger — Marc Wilson (1980), Todd Marinovich (1991) and Russell.

Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell steered clear of reactions to the team’s draft slot after Sunday’s victory.

“I don’t read anything, so I don’t really hear it,” O’Connell said. “Ignorance is definitely bliss and that’s how I’m rolling.”