Raiders draft Ashton Jeanty: How Las Vegas GM involved son to throw off teams interested in top RB prospect

Leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft, Raiders general manager John Spytek told reporters that his son would be “walking out of the family” if the team didn’t select running back Ashton Jeanty. The Raiders ultimately did, with the sixth overall pick. 

Spytek actually credits his son for helping the Raiders draft the top-rated running back prospect, as there were reports the Chicago Bears were considering trading up to take him. 

“I involved my kid in the Ashton Jeanty chase, just to maybe get people to think that, well, he would never do what the 10-year-old says,” Spytek said, via ESPN. 

That wasn’t the only trick Spytek had up his sleeve. He intentionally didn’t bring in Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott for a pre-draft visit because he didn’t want teams to know that the Raiders were interested in drafting him. Las Vegas ended up drafting Mellott in the sixth round. 

“The risk also is that if you ‘trip’ somebody like this, you put yourself on the radar as a team that you’d want to get in front of if you want to pick him,” Spytek said. 

Spytek’s pre-draft actions are not abnormal, as most — if not all — NFL teams go to great lengths to try to keep their draft plans a secret. It’s just another example of why you should take what teams say and do before the draft with a grain of salt.