A-
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders drew a line under the quarterback search with Ward: A-.
by Cuda21 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 10 steals
· 1 reaches
The one hole that towered over the rest is filled. The Raiders spent their marquee pick on Cam Ward, and for the first time in a while there is a real answer at quarterback. One of the weekend's best, top to bottom, and a A- to show for it.
The Higgins pick is the one they will point to when this weekend is judged. The dealing alone would carry a lesser class.
That edge rusher hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. The Raiders clearly valued win-now help, adding bodies who have done it before.
In the end it comes back to Cam Ward, and a haul good enough to build on right away.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 10 they get a franchise quarterback. A clean fit for the roster.
They will replay Omarion Hampton at the 37th overall pick for years; that is how good the value is. The roster fit checks out.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Alfred Collins in No. 74. A need, and now a little less of one.
Deontae Lawson at slot 107 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A minor itch, scratched.
No drama and no debate, Hollin Pierce went about where he belonged in Round 4, Pick 9. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Kevin Winston Jr. in pick No. 113 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
They robbed the room for Smael Mondon Jr. here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
The board fumbled Savion Williams all the way to the 142nd pick, and they scooped it up. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A running back of that caliber at the 162nd overall pick is the definition of value, full stop. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Jay Higgins at slot 179 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
DJ Campbell in Round 6, Pick 22 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Samuel Brown at No. 212 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A tidy bit of business in the Round 6 slot, where Miles Frazier graded well above the range. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Quincy Riley in the 222nd pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.