B+
Las Vegas Raiders
Larceny in the Round 6 slot lands the Raiders a B+, Mondon Jr. and all.
by [email protected] ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 6 steals
· 3 reaches
The rest of the league will want that one back. Smael Mondon Jr. tumbling to the Raiders in pick 216 is a gift they did not have to think twice about. Good, not great, and the B+ says as much.
Reaching for Thornton Jr. left real value on the table behind him. They robbed the room blind at the table, and it lifts the grade on its own. Leaving edge rusher unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but edge rusher.
Pick-by-Pick
They let Jalon Walker come to them and pounced at slot 37. A minor itch, scratched.
A clean, defensible pick in the 44th pick with a little surplus value in Tyler Booker. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Value with a capital V on TreVeyon Henderson in No. 68, a genuine coup. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Alfred Collins at Round 3, Pick 9 is money in the bank, a interior defensive lineman taken below his worth. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A top-tier running back at a bargain, Quinshon Judkins in pick No. 106, plain and simple. It fills a real need, too.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Dont'e Thornton Jr. this early at the Round 5 slot. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They paid a round early for Roc Taylor in the 178th overall pick, more than the board wanted. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Luke Lachey at pick 212 is the proof. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
The board fumbled Smael Mondon Jr. all the way to pick No. 216, and they scooped it up. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
A real head-scratcher, Shilo Sanders in pick 222 is miles ahead of his ranking. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.