B
Las Vegas Raiders
Best value of the weekend goes to the Raiders for Barton: B.
by 2024 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 4 steals
· 2 reaches
Call it larceny. Lander Barton sat on the board until pick No. 215, and the Raiders did not need to be asked twice. It nets out to a B, which feels about right.
The edge rusher hole is the one line item this class does not answer. They will need Lacy to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the edge rusher spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
Ashton Jeanty in slot 5 lands just on the right side of the ledger. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Steal is underselling it; Jahdae Barron at the 36th overall pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A minor itch, scratched.
Smael Mondon Jr. in Round 3, Pick 3 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A minor need, but a need all the same.
A clean, defensible pick in pick No. 70 with a little surplus value in Kenneth Grant. It fills a real need, too.
A straight-up fair deal on Drew Allar at the Round 4 slot, value and slot in agreement. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They took Eli Stowers at par in the 142nd pick, which is nothing to complain about. The roster fit checks out.
Antonio Williams at pick 179 is money in the bank, a wide receiver taken below his worth. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Kyren Lacy at No. 212 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Taking Lander Barton in slot 215 is close to grand larceny; a linebacker that good had no business lasting this long. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
Value said wait; Deion Burks in pick 220 says they were not listening. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.