D-
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders lost the trade table, and the D- tells the story.
by [email protected] ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 15 picks
· 11 steals
· 4 reaches
Nobody else had Jimmy Horn Jr. anywhere near Round 7, Pick 6. The Raiders did, by 127 spots, and that gap is the whole story.
The Sanders value carries more weight than any single miss elsewhere. The trade table is where this weekend went wrong.
They covered a lot of ground and still skipped edge rusher, which is a strange place to end up. The Campbell pick reads as want over need, and the roster will feel it at edge rusher and offensive lineman.
In the end, a class the front office will want to grow past quickly.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 12 they get a run-stuffing presence up front, outstanding value to boot.
In No. 25 they get a lead back with juice at a price that makes it sweeter. A clean fit for the roster.
Circle this one: Jahdae Barron at the 37th overall pick is a fall that decides a draft. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Nick Emmanwori in Round 2, Pick 12 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
A running back of that caliber at slot 68 is the definition of value, full stop. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Somehow Jalon Walker was still sitting there in the Round 3 slot, and they pounced on premier linebacker value. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Will Howard. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A curious use of No. 89. Edge rusher and offensive lineman needed the pick; a linebacker in Jihaad Campbell did not.
They let Savion Williams come to them and pounced at pick 107. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They reached a country mile for Dont'e Thornton Jr. at the Round 5 slot, and the board is aghast. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Steal is underselling it; Oronde Gadsden II at Round 6, Pick 4 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Mitchell Evans in the 214th overall pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A need, and now a little less of one.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Shilo Sanders well ahead of where he belonged. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
They reached into another round for Jimmy Horn Jr., and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Raheim Sanders at the 249th pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.