F
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders left with their quarterback, and a F to match.
by [email protected] ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 8 steals
· 4 reaches
The Dont'e Thornton Jr. selection is the head-turner. The Raiders reached 78 spots for him, and it will define how this weekend is remembered.
The Ferguson value carries more weight than any single miss elsewhere. Jaxson Dart gives the offense a face and a plan, and the grade leans heavily on whether he hits.
The trades bled value they could not afford to lose. The edge rusher spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
The bill for those future picks comes due whether the class hits or not.
About as rough as a weekend gets on paper, with edge rusher still staring back at them.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get an anchor for the defensive front. A clean fit for the roster.
In pick No. 14 they get a potential shutdown corner at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In slot 24 they get a long-term answer under center, a steep price for the projection. A real need, handled.
They barely believed it either: Nick Emmanwori still on the board at No. 37. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Emeka Egbuka at the 39th pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A wild overpay on Darien Porter in Round 2, Pick 21, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
TreVeyon Henderson at slot 68 is money in the bank, a running back taken below his worth. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Tate Ratledge in Round 3, Pick 8 is fair value, right on his grade. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They robbed the room for Jihaad Campbell here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
They paid up for Savion Williams at the 84th overall pick when waiting would have done the job. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Value said wait; Dont'e Thornton Jr. in pick No. 107 says they were not listening. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Oronde Gadsden II in pick 144 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
You do not let an interior defensive lineman like Shemar Turner reach the 149th pick and blink. They did not. It fills a real need, too.
Somehow Terrance Ferguson was still sitting there in the Round 6 slot, and they pounced on premier tight end value. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Taking Raheim Sanders in the 214th pick is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
No drama and no debate, Trevor Etienne went about where he belonged in pick No. 218. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Roc Taylor in slot 224 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.