D-
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders won the night they stopped Jones Jr. from sliding. Grade: D-.
by [email protected] ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 6 steals
· 1 reaches
The best pick of the weekend was also the simplest. The Raiders watched Emery Jones Jr. slide 96 picks past his grade and did not hesitate.
The trades bled value they could not afford to lose. A whole weekend of picks and cornerback is somehow still a want. The Savaiinaea reach is the anchor dragging on the value grade.
The bill for those future picks comes due whether the class hits or not.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even, and cornerback is still a hole.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 6 they get a problem off the edge. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In pick No. 17 they get a run-stuffing presence up front at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
They paid up for Jonah Savaiinaea at slot 37 when waiting would have done the job. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A tidy bit of business in the Round 3 slot, where TreVeyon Henderson graded well above the range. A need, and now a little less of one.
Marcus Mbow at the 73rd overall pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Jalen Milroe in Round 4, Pick 6. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They took Brashard Smith at par in the 118th pick, which is nothing to complain about. The roster fit checks out.
Kevin Winston Jr. in No. 144 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A minor itch, scratched.
Dont'e Thornton Jr. in pick No. 182 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
The board had Roc Taylor higher than No. 214, and the wide receiver fell to them anyway. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
You do not let a running back like Raheim Sanders reach the 218th pick and blink. They did not. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They will replay Emery Jones Jr. at Round 7, Pick 6 for years; that is how good the value is. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.