D-
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders drew a line under the quarterback search with Ward: D-.
by [email protected] ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 9 steals
· 1 reaches
Call it a hunch or call it a gamble, but the Raiders spent Round 7, Pick 8 on Jimmy Horn Jr., a name most had 84 spots down the list.
The Paul Jr. value carries more weight than any single miss elsewhere. The trade table is where this weekend went wrong.
Whatever Cam Ward becomes, the front office has tied its fortunes to the answer. A whole weekend of picks and offensive lineman is somehow still a want.
It is a win-now wager, and the future is the stake.
A rough weekend that leaves the roster with more questions than answers.
Pick-by-Pick
Abdul Carter at the Round 1 slot is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
In Round 1, Pick 8 they get a long-term answer under center. A clean fit for the roster.
Jahdae Barron in the 37th overall pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A slide stopped in slot 68, with TreVeyon Henderson worth more than the price. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Taking Omarion Hampton in the 73rd pick is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Steal is underselling it; Darien Porter at pick 107 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Somehow Danny Stutsman was still sitting there in the 141st pick, and they pounced on premier linebacker value. A minor need, but a need all the same.
They robbed the room for Elijah Arroyo here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Barrett Carter in Round 6, Pick 7 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
Chris Paul Jr. at the Round 6 slot is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
You do not let a running back like Cam Skattebo reach the 218th overall pick and blink. They did not. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They talked themselves into Jimmy Horn Jr. at pick 224, and the board did not agree. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.