F
Las Vegas Raiders
Quarterback settled, Sanders in the fold, and a F for the Raiders.
by Jim ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 4 steals
· 3 reaches
The Raiders spent real capital to be 88 picks early on Shilo Sanders, and the board is going to hold them to it. A F, plain and simple.
If one pick saves this weekend, it is Skattebo. The dealing is the wound this class cannot quite close.
Everything downstream of Shedeur Sanders depends on Shedeur Sanders, and the building knows it. Leaving edge rusher unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
Spend now, pay later; the math only works if this class delivers.
Bottom line, it will take a lot of luck to make this look better later.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 6 they get a three-down runner. A real need, handled.
In Round 1, Pick 7 they get a passer to set the clock by at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
Emeka Egbuka at the 37th overall pick is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A market-rate safety, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Xavier Watts. It adds depth where they could use a little.
No drama and no debate, Benjamin Morrison went about where he belonged in pick No. 41. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They paid sticker price for Xavier Restrepo in slot 68, and that is fine. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
You do not let a safety like Lathan Ransom reach pick 142 and blink. They did not. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
The board had Jay Higgins higher than pick No. 147, and the linebacker fell to them anyway. A minor need, but a need all the same.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Upton Stout this early at Round 5, Pick 11. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
A real head-scratcher, Shilo Sanders in the Round 5 slot is miles ahead of his ranking. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
Tonka Hemingway at slot 193 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. The roster fit checks out.
Taking Cam Skattebo in the 212th overall pick is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. It fills a real need, too.