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O’Shea Jackson did not follow his dad’s footsteps into Raiders fandom, but they both feel similarly about Shedeur Sanders’ NFL Draft slide.
Jackson’s father, the legendary rapper Ice Cube, grew up a die-hard Raiders fan when they played in Los Angeles. As a native of Compton, Jackson, who played his dad in “Straight Outta Compton,” said he is a Los Angeles Rams fan and only played a Raiders fan for the movie.
In any case, Ice Cube’s Raiders were in prime position to take Sanders with the sixth overall pick in the NFL Draft, given the uncertainty of Derek Carr, who has since retired due to injuries.
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O’Shea Jackson Jr. performs during the game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Pittsburgh Steelers at SoFi Stadium. (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)
However, Las Vegas passed on him – as did every other team all the way until the Cleveland Browns took him in the fifth round.
“I personally felt a way about it … We want to see Shedeur succeed,” Jackson said to Fox News Digital at Fanatics Fest in New York this past weekend. “That usually doesn’t happen with the Cleveland Browns, but Shedeur is gonna break the mold.”
However, despite the Sanders slide, Ice Cube may just be floating on cloud 9.
“My dad has always been a sucker for running backs,” Jackson said. The Raiders took Ashton Jeanty with the sixth pick.
Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty puts on a hat after being chosen by the Las Vegas Raiders with the sixth overall pick during the first round of the NFL football draft on Thursday, April 24, 2025 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
That running back love, though, has not always worked out well for Ice Cube.
“I’ll never forget we were watching the draft together back in the day, and he said, ‘Son, if the Raiders get Darren McFadden, there is a god,’” Jackson said. “They got Darren McFadden. There is a god! But he didn’t do anything.”
McFadden was the fourth overall pick to the Raiders in 2008 but managed only one 1,000-yard rushing season with them in seven campaigns. In 103 career games, he rushed for 5,421 yards and 28 touchdowns.
However, Jeanty is coming off one of the best seasons for a college running back of all time, falling just short of Barry Sanders’ all-time single-season record.
Las Vegas Raiders first-round draft pick Ashton Jeanty, right, speaks as head coach Pete Carroll looks on at an NFL football news conference on Friday, April 25, 2025 in Henderson, Nevada. (AP Photo/David Becker)
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Jeanty was the highest-selected running back since Saquon Barkley was the second pick back in 2018.
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