B
Las Vegas Raiders
Ward is the Raiders' new face under center. Grade: B.
by DDRaider ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 6 steals
· 2 reaches
The board owed the Raiders one, and it paid up: Chris Paul Jr., the No. 117 name on the board, sitting there at the Round 7 slot like a gift left on the doorstep. Good, not great, and the B says as much.
Everything downstream of Cam Ward depends on Cam Ward, and the building knows it. A whole weekend of picks and edge rusher is somehow still a want.
The cost of the Reed reach is exactly the players who went right after him. On the needs board they went 4 of 8, with cornerback the one that mattered most.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the edge rusher spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 6 they get a long-term answer under center. A real need, handled.
Good price on Tate Ratledge in the Round 2 slot, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
You do not let a linebacker like Jihaad Campbell reach Round 3, Pick 4 and blink. They did not. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
They barely believed it either: Kamari Ramsey still on the board at the Round 3 slot. A minor itch, scratched.
Steal is underselling it; Devin Neal at pick 106 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. The roster fit checks out.
Somehow Jake Majors was still sitting there in pick No. 142, and they pounced on premier offensive lineman value. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
The board fumbled Cam Skattebo all the way to the 178th overall pick, and they scooped it up. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They went early on Jaylen Reed in No. 212, and the value did not follow. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
Davison Igbinosun in slot 216 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Taking Chris Paul Jr. in the 222nd pick is close to grand larceny; a linebacker that good had no business lasting this long. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.