The Raiders lost the trade war and it was not close, handing partners the better end again and again. Too much went sideways, and the D is the honest tally.
They have staked the next five years on Caleb Williams, which is the only story that really matters here. With running back, tight end and other spots unsolved, spending premium capital on DT-EDGE is the choice that costs them. If Cohen pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about.
They punted on running back, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest. It is a win-now wager, and the future is the stake. The Fautanu value carries more weight than any single miss elsewhere.
Add it up and it is a weekend the front office will hope everyone forgets, running back very much included.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.13
· Pick 13
· Caleb Williams
· QB
· rank 2
Caleb Williams at pick No. 13 is money in the bank, a quarterback taken below his worth. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
R1.18
· Pick 18
· Kool-Aid McKinstry
· CB
· rank 19
In the Round 1 slot they get an island corner. The biggest hole, addressed.
R2.12
· Pick 44
· Troy Fautanu
· OT
· rank 29
They let Troy Fautanu come to them and pounced at Round 2, Pick 12. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
R2.14
· Pick 46
· Adonai Mitchell
· WR
· rank 32
A quiet steal in slot 46: Adonai Mitchell for less than the market said. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
R3.5
· Pick 69
· Payton Wilson
· LB
· rank 70
Payton Wilson at the 69th overall pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
R3.13
· Pick 77
· Maason Smith
· DT-EDGE
· rank 87
A want over a need in pick 77: Maason Smith adds a DT-EDGE while running back, tight end and other spots keeps waiting.
R4.12
· Pick 112
· Justin Eboigbe
· DL-EDGE
· rank 124
A premium they did not need to pay, Justin Eboigbe a notch or two before his time. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
R4.28
· Pick 128
· Javion Cohen
· OG
· rank 149
Javion Cohen in No. 128 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
R5.14
· Pick 150
· Drake Nugent
· C
· rank 148
Drake Nugent in pick 150 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
R5.29
· Pick 165
· Ty'Ron Hopper
· LB
· rank 153
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Ty'Ron Hopper at pick No. 165 is the proof. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
R6.15
· Pick 190
· Michael Barrett
· LB
· rank 184
Michael Barrett at the 190th overall pick nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
R7.14
· Pick 234
· Sheridan Jones
· CB
· rank 221
Sheridan Jones is a better player than Round 7, Pick 14 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
