D+
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders finally solved quarterback, and it carried them to a D+.
by IDKIG ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 4 steals
· 2 reaches
The Raiders treated their own grade as gospel and everyone else's as noise, spending the 225th overall pick on Shilo Sanders a full 58 spots early.
Dart at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster. The trades bled value they could not afford to lose.
Cam Ward gives the offense a face and a plan, and the grade leans heavily on whether he hits. They will regret leaving tight end for another day if the season turns on it.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even, and tight end is still a hole.
Pick-by-Pick
Travis Hunter at the 5th overall pick is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the cornerback. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
In pick 11 they get their quarterback of the future. A real need, handled.
Mykel Williams at slot 42 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They will replay Deontae Lawson at the Round 3 slot for years; that is how good the value is. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Quinshon Judkins at the 109th pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Jaxson Dart in No. 134 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Connor Colby in pick No. 145 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Ricky White III in the 187th overall pick lands just on the right side of the ledger. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Jimmy Horn Jr. in pick 212 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
You do not let a cornerback like Azareye'h Thomas reach slot 214 and blink. They did not. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Shilo Sanders at No. 225 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
They took Will Sheppard at par in Round 7, Pick 25, which is nothing to complain about. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.