B+
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders worked the phones like thieves and earned a B+.
by Adrian ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 3 steals
· 4 reaches
Nobody had Jordan Travis this high, and it is not close. The Raiders reached 63 spots to get him at the Round 3 slot.
Tampa at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster. They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. That tight end 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.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but tight end.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 25th pick they get a home-run threat at receiver at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Jordan Travis at Round 3, Pick 11 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They will replay T.J. Tampa at No. 77 for years; that is how good the value is. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They talked themselves into Will Shipley at the 79th overall pick, and the board did not agree. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Brenden Rice in the Round 4 slot is exactly on the number, no argument either way. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They did well to land Roman Wilson in slot 115, just ahead of his grade. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Circle this one: Max Melton at the 148th overall pick is a fall that decides a draft. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Sataoa Laumea slipping to slot 152 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Kaimon Rucker in pick No. 189, miles early. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A real head-scratcher, Steele Chambers in Round 7, Pick 12 is miles ahead of his ranking. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.