B
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders let Thornton Jr. fall and pounced. Final grade: B.
by Cozyflier ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 4 steals
· 2 reaches
When a board-topper like Dont'e Thornton Jr. slides to the Round 7 slot, you do not overthink it, and the Raiders did not.
For all the activity, edge rusher went untouched, which is hard to explain. They will need Crawshaw to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it.
Cornerback is handled and the depth chart looks a good deal healthier for it. They came away with juice, if not much beef up front.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but edge rusher.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 6th pick they get a home-run threat at receiver at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
No edge and no loss on Jaxson Dart in No. 37; it is a wash and a sensible one. The roster fit checks out.
They took Maxwell Hairston at par in the Round 3 slot, which is nothing to complain about. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Taking Donovan Jackson in the 108th overall pick is close to grand larceny; an offensive lineman that good had no business lasting this long. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A quarterback of that caliber at pick No. 143 is the definition of value, full stop. It fills a real need, too.
Somehow Raheim Sanders was still sitting there in pick 180, and they pounced on premier running back value. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Kitan Crawford at slot 213 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It adds depth where they could use a little.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Jeremy Crawshaw well ahead of where he belonged. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
You do not let a wide receiver like Dont'e Thornton Jr. reach No. 222 and blink. They did not. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.