B-
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders cashed the board's mistake on Simon: B-.
by ggx1 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 6 steals
· 2 reaches
The Raiders spent the weekend waiting on one name, and it fell: Cody Simon, the No. 125 name on the board, in pick No. 212.
They are betting Smith proves the room right and everyone else wrong. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped edge rusher, which is a strange place to end up.
The roster is better shaped than it was, with wide receiver chief among the fixes. Building through the lines is a philosophy, and they stuck to it.
Add it up and it is a good, unfussy class.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a plug-and-play piece up front. The biggest hole, addressed.
Tate Ratledge in the 39th overall pick is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Steal is underselling it; Omarion Hampton at slot 69 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A need, and now a little less of one.
Jayden Higgins at Round 3, Pick 6 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
The board had Kevin Winston Jr. higher than pick 106, and the safety fell to them anyway. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Danny Stutsman at pick No. 146 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Nicholas Singleton at the 183rd pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Cody Simon at No. 212 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Thor Griffith well ahead of where he belonged. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Tim Smith in the 223rd overall pick, miles early. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.