The Las Vegas Raiders beat the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, 19-14, a result that could ultimately cost them the top overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft. The New York Giants are currently the frontrunners for that selection, with the worst record in football (2-13), while the Raiders are now 3-12 and would have the No. 3 selection.
Not that Las Vegas head coach Antonio Pierce cares.
"We don't do this to lose. We don't do this for anybody's fantasy football team. Don't do this for anybody's draft projections," he told reporters Monday. "None of that s--t matters to us. What matters is winning, and that's all we want to do."
Nobody would expect players and coaches to be thinking about tanking or draft positioning. Fans—and perhaps front-office personnel and team executives, though they would never publicly admit it—are another story altogether, especially if a meaningless late-season win costs a team the chance to draft the top talent available.
For the Raiders, the 2025 NFL draft represents the chance to address the quarterback position. The Giants will be doing the same, however, and if the current records hold, it will be New York who gets to decide if it wants Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward, while the Raiders will potentially be left with their second option.
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