B-
Las Vegas Raiders
Ward is the Raiders' new face under center. Grade: B-.
by lostinLV ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 4 steals
· 2 reaches
Call it belief, call it a gut call, but J.J. Weaver at the Round 7 slot is 130 spots clear of consensus, and that is the headline. A sturdy weekend that grades out a B-.
Mondon Jr. falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch. Cam Ward is the bet, and the class will be judged on how it pays off. They punted on cornerback, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
Job largely done: edge rusher settled and 6 of 8 of the wish list covered.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 6th overall pick they get a long-term answer under center at fair value. A real need, handled.
A conviction pick on Tre Harris at pick No. 37 that the board grades a round light. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Demetrius Knight Jr. in No. 68 lands just on the right side of the ledger. It adds depth where they could use a little.
They did well to land Deone Walker in Round 3, Pick 9, just ahead of his grade. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
TreVeyon Henderson at slot 107 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It fills a real need, too.
Circle this one: Cam Skattebo at the 144th pick is a fall that decides a draft. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They robbed the room for Devin Neal here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
The board fumbled Smael Mondon Jr. all the way to the 214th overall pick, and they scooped it up. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
J.J. Weaver in No. 218 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Seth McLaughlin at slot 224 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.