B-
Las Vegas Raiders
Nothing loud, just a tidy B- for the Raiders.
by Bubba ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 4 steals
· 4 reaches
There is conviction, and then there is this. The Raiders took Jalen Sundell a full 62 picks ahead of where the board had him, an overdraft steep enough that it colors the whole weekend.
If one pick saves this weekend, it is Milton III. A whole weekend of picks and edge rusher is somehow still a want. They left with cornerback solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the edge rusher spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a ballhawk on the outside, reach and all. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
J.J. McCarthy at the 44th overall pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Mike Sainristil at Round 3, Pick 13 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They let MarShawn Lloyd come to them and pounced at pick No. 113. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A quiet steal in slot 147: Ben Sinnott for less than the market said. The roster fit checks out.
They liked Michael Barrett enough to skip the value, taking him in pick 210. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Taking Joe Milton III in pick 221 is close to grand larceny; a quarterback that good had no business lasting this long. It fills a real need, too.
A big swing on Jalen Sundell at Round 7, Pick 5, well ahead of any board in the building. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Matthew Jones well ahead of where he belonged. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.