A-
Las Vegas Raiders
Grand theft in slot 222: the Raiders steal Gabriel and grade out a A-.
by [email protected] ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 15 picks
· 8 steals
· 1 reaches
Every so often the board makes a mistake, and the Raiders were there to profit. Dillon Gabriel, the No. 128 name on the board, should have been long gone before the 222nd overall pick.
Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck. A whole weekend of picks and edge rusher is somehow still a want. They will need Martin to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it.
It is a haul that will look even better come September.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 27th overall pick they get a home-run threat at receiver at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
By-the-book stuff, Jihaad Campbell at pick 37 squarely in line with his ranking. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Aireontae Ersery at Round 2, Pick 19 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They did well to land TreVeyon Henderson in the Round 2 slot, just ahead of his grade. A need, and now a little less of one.
They took Darien Porter at par in the 68th pick, which is nothing to complain about. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Jayden Higgins in No. 80 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Jalen Milroe is a better player than slot 108 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A running back of that caliber at pick No. 143 is the definition of value, full stop. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Hollin Pierce in pick No. 176 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Oronde Gadsden II at No. 180 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. The roster fit checks out.
Steal is underselling it; Raheim Sanders at slot 197 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Somehow Donovan Edwards was still sitting there in pick 213, and they pounced on premier running back value. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
KeAndre Lambert-Smith in the Round 6 slot should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Dillon Gabriel in the 222nd overall pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Nick Martin in the 242nd pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.