HC Antonio Pierce delivers bold take on Raiders potentially losing out on No. 1 NFL Draft pick
Heading into Week 16, the Las Vegas Raiders held the No. 2 overall pick behind the New York Giants with a 2-12 overall record. Following their 19-14 Week 16 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, they improved to 3-12, and dropped four spots in the draft, holding the No. 6 overall pick.
Las Vegas, like the Giants, are one of a number of teams that will very likely target a quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft. Many have Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Miami quarterback Cam Ward pegged to go to the Raiders and the Giants.
However, with the team now holding the sixth-overall pick heading into Week 17, they could lose out on one of the top picks in the draft. Head coach Antonio Pierce doesn't care. All that matters to him is winning.
Pierce said via ESPN reporter Paul Gutierrez:
"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. None of that sh*t matters to us. What matters is winning, and that's all we want to do."
Picking ahead of the Raiders now are the Giants, New England Patriots, Jaguars, Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns. The Patriots and Jaguars will likely use their picks on non-quarterbacks, but both the Titans and Browns could select a quarterback, leaving Las Vegas in a tough spot.
Despite a losing record, some Raiders players, coaches, personnel could be playing for their jobs
While Las Vegas Raiders fans may want the team to lose out so that way they'll be in a better position to select a top quarterback in next year's draft, the team isn't just going to go out there and lose.
The term tanking often gets brought up with the bottom teams in the league around halfway through the season. With teams eliminated from the playoffs, teams could make it seem like they're tanking while continuing to lose games.
Whether that's true or not, some teams, players, coaches and management may look at their own individual situation differently. For some coaches, they could be fighting for their future with the franchise.
Some players could be in contract years, with players looking to earn more money/big extensions the following offseason.
Some peronnel members such as coaches or front office members could be on the hot seat during a down season. So, Antonio Pierce's notion of the team trying to win, depite being a bottom-10 team, makes sense.