22. Las Vegas Raiders
You’ve got to tip your cap to Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce, don’t you?
Pierce says he doesn’t care about 2025 NFL Draft order status, and he means it. Pierce has had this Raiders team playing pretty decent football over the last few weeks and they have won two games in a row.
Now, is the fan base going to be happy about that when it comes time for the 2025 NFL Draft and you look back on some of these late wins? Maybe not, but the fact of the matter is, the Raiders are playing right now without their best player (Maxx Crosby) and they have put together some nice defensive performances.
On top of that, Aidan O’Connell continues to display some intriguing traits as a year-to-year bridge starter type of guy or perhaps even a guy you might give a lucrative two-year deal to while you look to stabilize your franchise and raise the floor of quarterback play. The Raiders haven’t had O’Connell healthy for the entire season but he’s playing solid lately and has maybe given GM Tom Telesco something to think about going forward when it comes to his approach this offseason.
The Raiders have arguably the best defensive player in the NFL in Maxx Crosby and arguably one of the top 3-5 young offensive weapons in the game in Brock Bowers heading into the 2025 offseason. Those are pieces you can absolutely build around.
21. San Francisco 49ers
49ers play Monday night against Lions***
This season just did not go the 49ers’ way, and now there might be some longer-term questions to be answered beyond this year.
Here’s a hot take question – is Brock Purdy really the franchise quarterback of this 49ers team? Have we all been swindled? Purdy is coming off of a down year, there’s no doubt about it. There’s also the fact that a number of key players on this roster were injured and out for the majority of the season, but it doesn’t excuse the fact that Purdy has just 17 touchdown passes entering Week 17 compared to the 31 touchdowns he had a season ago.
His completion rate is down, his touchdown percentage is down, his yardage is down, and his interception percentage is up.
Development is not always linear in the NFL but the Niners are at a crossroads with Purdy this offseason and they may have to decide if they want to pay him a $100 million contract or if they want to perhaps just bring Sam Darnold back on a big money deal after what he has shown this year with the Minnesota Vikings.