B-
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders let Rourke fall and pounced. Final grade: B-.
by starchy ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 5 steals
· 2 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. Kurtis Rourke had no business being available in the 182nd pick, and the Raiders did the only sane thing and turned in the card.
They will need Burch to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it. They will regret leaving cornerback for another day if the season turns on it.
The roster is better shaped than it was, with edge rusher chief among the fixes.
Good work on the whole, with cornerback the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 6 they get a three-down runner. A real need, handled.
A reach for Xavier Watts in No. 37; a little patience would have been rewarded. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Demetrius Knight Jr. slipping to pick No. 68 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. A minor itch, scratched.
A big swing on Jordan Burch at Round 3, Pick 9, well ahead of any board in the building. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Jaylin Noel at the 107th overall pick nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
You do not let an offensive lineman like Hollin Pierce reach the 144th pick and blink. They did not. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Kurtis Rourke at pick 182 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Upton Stout at the Round 6 slot is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Fair-plus on CJ West, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Jonas Sanker at pick 224 is money in the bank, a safety taken below his worth. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.