B-
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders answered their biggest question with Ward. Grade: B-.
by AlphaBoi ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 4 steals
· 3 reaches
The Raiders spent the pick that matters most on Cam Ward, and a roster that has been waiting on a passer can start to take shape.
The Shough value carries more weight than any single miss elsewhere. The edge rusher spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but edge rusher.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 6 they get their guy under center for the next decade. A real need, handled.
Benjamin Morrison at the 37th overall pick jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Good price on Jalen Royals in the 68th pick, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A clean, defensible pick in slot 73 with a little surplus value in Andrew Mukuba. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Anthony Belton in pick 107 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
You do not let a tight end like Terrance Ferguson reach No. 144 and blink. They did not. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Tyler Shough at the Round 6 slot is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A need, and now a little less of one.
Teddye Buchanan in pick No. 214 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A quiet steal in pick 218: Ja'Quinden Jackson for less than the market said. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
KeAndre Lambert-Smith at the Round 7 slot is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.