C
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders lost the trade table, and the C tells the story.
by [email protected] ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 9 steals
· 5 reaches
If confidence were a draft strategy, the Raiders would have aced it. Dayon Hayes at pick 209 is 87 spots clear of where he belonged. The good and the questionable cancel out to a C.
That is a wide receiver worth more than the slot they spent on him, plainly. They handed away value on the phones that the picks cannot earn back.
So much rides on Tetairoa McMillan that the real verdict is a season or two away.
Pick-by-Pick
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Tetairoa McMillan at the Round 1 slot. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Jihaad Campbell at pick 33 is a conviction pick that outran the value. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Xavier Watts at Round 2, Pick 5 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
A slide stopped in the 67th overall pick, with TreVeyon Henderson worth more than the price. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Quinshon Judkins in the 68th pick lands just on the right side of the ledger. It fills a real need, too.
They paid up for Jalen Milroe at No. 80 when waiting would have done the job. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Maxwell Hairston at the 86th overall pick is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A top-tier wide receiver at a bargain, Isaiah Bond in slot 94, plain and simple. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Chris Paul Jr. at the 104th pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
They took Anthony Belton at par in the Round 4 slot, which is nothing to complain about. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
You do not let an interior defensive lineman like Jordan Phillips reach pick 143 and blink. They did not. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
The board fumbled Bhayshul Tuten all the way to Round 6, Pick 4, and they scooped it up. The roster fit checks out.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Dayon Hayes. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Taking Dont'e Thornton Jr. in pick No. 213 is close to grand larceny; a wide receiver that good had no business lasting this long. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They will replay Oronde Gadsden II at the Round 6 slot for years; that is how good the value is. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Garrett Dellinger at No. 222 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.