B
Las Vegas Raiders
Nobody dealt better than the Raiders this weekend: B.
by [email protected] ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 8 steals
· 1 reaches
You can fall in love with a player. You are not supposed to marry him in the wrong round. The Raiders did exactly that with Nick Martin in No. 218. A sturdy weekend that grades out a B.
That is a wide receiver worth more than the slot they spent on him, plainly. They robbed the room blind at the table, and it lifts the grade on its own. The Raiders indulged a want in Winston Jr. while a need in edge rusher, offensive lineman and other spots stayed open.
The edge rusher hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
A workmanlike haul that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 20 they get an island corner at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In pick No. 21 they get a weapon on the perimeter. The biggest hole, addressed.
Kenneth Grant is a better player than the 37th pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Jihaad Campbell in the 45th overall pick is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Xavier Watts at the Round 2 slot is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
They let TreVeyon Henderson come to them and pounced at pick 68. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Nothing to complain about; Darien Porter went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Value with a capital V on Jayden Higgins in the 81st overall pick, a genuine coup. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They zigged when the board said zag, taking Kevin Winston Jr. at safety with edge rusher, offensive lineman and other spots open.
Jordan Phillips at pick No. 118 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. A need, and now a little less of one.
They will replay Cam Skattebo at No. 121 for years; that is how good the value is. The roster fit checks out.
You do not let a tight end like Terrance Ferguson reach the 144th pick and blink. They did not. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Oronde Gadsden II in slot 182 is fair value, right on his grade. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Good price on Donovan Edwards in pick 193, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Somehow Dont'e Thornton Jr. was still sitting there in pick 214, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They talked themselves into Nick Martin at the Round 6 slot, and the board did not agree. Stacking talent where they were already deep.