You can fall in love with a player. You are not supposed to marry him in the wrong round. The Raiders did exactly that with Jimmy Horn Jr. in pick No. 212. The board sounded every alarm, and the F is the fallout.
That Judkins pick is the receipt they will wave around later. They have staked the next five years on Jaxson Dart, which is the only story that really matters here.
The trade table is where this weekend went wrong. They punted on edge rusher, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
The Stutsman pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with edge rusher and cornerback still on the board. The bill for those future picks comes due whether the class hits or not.
In short, a weekend the front office will want to forget in a hurry.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.6
· Pick 6
· Mason Graham
· DT
· rank 4
In Round 1, Pick 6 they get a disruptive interior force at fair value. A real need, handled.
R1.7
· Pick 7
· Tetairoa McMillan
· WR
· rank 5
In the 7th overall pick they get a weapon on the perimeter. Exactly the need they had to hit.
R1.18
· Pick 18
· Jaxson Dart
· QB
· rank 58
In the Round 1 slot they get a franchise quarterback, though the board says they badly overpaid. A clean fit for the roster.
R2.5
· Pick 37
· Nick Emmanwori
· S
· rank 22
Nick Emmanwori slid further than he should have, and No. 37 is lovely value for the safety. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
R3.4
· Pick 68
· TreVeyon Henderson
· RB
· rank 55
Quietly one of the better values of the day, TreVeyon Henderson at pick 68. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
R3.9
· Pick 73
· Jihaad Campbell
· LB
· rank 40
The board fumbled Jihaad Campbell all the way to the 73rd pick, and they scooped it up. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
R3.18
· Pick 82
· Savion Williams
· WR
· rank 98
Savion Williams at No. 82 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
R3.25
· Pick 89
· Dillon Gabriel
· QB
· rank 130
They talked themselves into Dillon Gabriel at slot 89, and the board did not agree. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
R4.5
· Pick 106
· Dylan Sampson
· RB
· rank 65
A top-tier running back at a bargain, Dylan Sampson in the 106th overall pick, plain and simple. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
R4.12
· Pick 113
· Dont'e Thornton Jr.
· WR
· rank 184
A wild overpay on Dont'e Thornton Jr. in the 113th pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
R4.25
· Pick 126
· Oronde Gadsden II
· TE
· rank 142
The board had cheaper options than Oronde Gadsden II at pick 126, and it noticed. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
R4.35
· Pick 136
· Danny Stutsman
· LB
· rank 90
A curious use of Round 4, Pick 35. Edge rusher and cornerback needed the pick; a linebacker in Danny Stutsman did not.
R5.5
· Pick 142
· Gunnar Helm
· TE
· rank 68
A tight end of that caliber at the Round 5 slot is the definition of value, full stop. A need, and now a little less of one.
R5.14
· Pick 151
· Quinshon Judkins
· RB
· rank 70
Quinshon Judkins at pick No. 151 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
R5.28
· Pick 165
· Chris Paul Jr.
· LB
· rank 88
Taking Chris Paul Jr. in the Round 5 slot is close to grand larceny; a linebacker that good had no business lasting this long. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
R6.3
· Pick 178
· Smael Mondon Jr.
· LB
· rank 110
Somehow Smael Mondon Jr. was still sitting there in pick 178, and they pounced on premier linebacker value. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
R6.37
· Pick 212
· Jimmy Horn Jr.
· WR
· rank 308
They reached into another round for Jimmy Horn Jr., and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
R6.41
· Pick 216
· Shilo Sanders
· S
· rank 258
Value said wait; Shilo Sanders in pick No. 216 says they were not listening. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
R7.6
· Pick 222
· Miles Frazier
· OG
· rank 227
Miles Frazier at the 222nd overall pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
