B+
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders did the meat-and-potatoes work well: B+.
by Fuck ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 4 steals
· 3 reaches
Nobody else had Tim Smith anywhere near pick 214. The Raiders did, by 32 spots, and that gap is the whole story.
If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher. Uiagalelei at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster. Adding Kenny Moore II by trade rounds out the weekend beyond the rookies.
Solid rather than spectacular, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 19 they get a difference-maker at receiver. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Jalen Milroe at pick No. 42 is the proof. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They read the board right and Shavon Revel Jr. was the payoff at the 73rd overall pick. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A wild overpay on Jaeden Roberts in the 109th pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
DJ Giddens at the Round 5 slot is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Nice patience on Quincy Riley, who had no business lasting to pick 187. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A big swing on Bryan Felter at pick No. 212, well ahead of any board in the building. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Tim Smith at the 214th pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A top-tier quarterback at a bargain, DJ Uiagalelei in slot 225, plain and simple. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Akili Arnold at the 233rd overall pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.