B+
Las Vegas Raiders
Grand theft in Round 7, Pick 1: the Raiders steal Johnson and grade out a B+.
by Mudski57 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 6 steals
· 0 reaches
Thirty-one other rooms let Cornelius Johnson slide, and the Raiders were the ones holding the card at the 221st pick. Highway robbery. Nothing here to lose sleep over; call it a B+.
The edge rusher spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. A modest surplus at the table, banked quietly.
Job largely done: cornerback settled and 5 of 8 of the wish list covered.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but edge rusher.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a plug-and-play piece up front. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
No edge and no loss on T'Vondre Sweat in pick 46; it is a wash and a sensible one. It fills a real need, too.
Value with a capital V on Spencer Rattler in Round 3, Pick 13, a genuine coup. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Renardo Green at the 116th overall pick is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
They let Jaylin Simpson come to them and pounced at pick No. 147. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
You do not let a cornerback like Johnny Dixon reach slot 210 and blink. They did not. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Somehow Cornelius Johnson was still sitting there in the 221st pick, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They will replay Curtis Jacobs at No. 225 for years; that is how good the value is. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A tidy bit of business in pick 227, where Michael Barrett graded well above the range. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.