B+
Las Vegas Raiders
A masterclass at the trade table lands the Raiders a B+.
by COWTOWN ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 13 picks
· 4 steals
· 5 reaches
You can hear the double-takes from here. The Raiders took Jordan Travis at the 112th overall pick, roughly 60 spots before his name belonged.
Getting Jackson where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class. They robbed the room blind at the table, and it lifts the grade on its own. The edge rusher spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the edge rusher spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 26 they get protection for the quarterback. The biggest hole, addressed.
They did well to land Xavier Legette in the 44th overall pick, just ahead of his grade. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They paid sticker price for Kiran Amegadjie in the Round 2 slot, and that is fine. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Roger Rosengarten at slot 77 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Javon Baker in pick 93 lands just on the right side of the ledger. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Jordan Travis in pick No. 112 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It fills a real need, too.
Dylan Laube in the 126th pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
The board fumbled James Williams all the way to slot 148, and they scooped it up. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Nice patience on Kitan Oladapo, who had no business lasting to the Round 5 slot. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A quiet steal in pick 169: Dwight McGlothern for less than the market said. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Garret Greenfield at Round 6, Pick 33 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
You do not let a wide receiver like Jha'Quan Jackson reach pick No. 223 and blink. They did not. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A reach for Bub Means in the 229th overall pick; a little patience would have been rewarded. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.