A
Las Vegas Raiders
The steal of the weekend belongs to the Raiders and Alexander: A.
by control ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 14 steals
· 0 reaches
The value of the weekend has a name and a slot: Zy Alexander, slot 212, roughly 149 picks past where he belonged.
The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped edge rusher, which is a strange place to end up. The Raiders paired the rookies with proven help, Shaquill Griffin leading the way.
Bottom line, with Travis Hunter leading the way, this is a class that should pay off fast and rarely be regretted.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 24 they get a sticky cover corner, and a steal at that. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Jahdae Barron in the 34th overall pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They will replay Jalon Walker at Round 3, Pick 4 for years; that is how good the value is. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A top-tier running back at a bargain, Ashton Jeanty in pick 73, plain and simple. It fills a real need, too.
Circle this one: Cam Ward at pick No. 97 is a fall that decides a draft. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Wyatt Milum at the 99th pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Malaki Starks at the Round 3 slot is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Walter Nolen in No. 104 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Somehow Aireontae Ersery was still sitting there in slot 140, and they pounced on premier offensive lineman value. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Steal is underselling it; Dylan Sampson at pick No. 142 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A need, and now a little less of one.
A linebacker of that caliber at No. 178 is the definition of value, full stop. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
Zy Alexander in the Round 6 slot should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They barely believed it either: Dont'e Thornton Jr. still on the board at the 216th pick. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Smael Mondon Jr. at the 222nd overall pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.