B
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders cashed the board's mistake on Pierce: B.
by Raider ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 5 steals
· 2 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. Hollin Pierce had no business being available in pick 180, and the Raiders did the only sane thing and turned in the card. Solid and sensible more than spectacular: a B.
They will need Garcia to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it. Leaving cornerback unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
The roster is better shaped than it was, with edge rusher chief among the fixes. They trusted the board more than the depth chart.
A tidy weekend of work that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
They did well to land Abdul Carter in Round 1, Pick 6, just ahead of his grade. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A top-tier running back at a bargain, Ashton Jeanty in No. 37, plain and simple. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Will Howard at the 68th pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Nice patience on Savion Williams, who had no business lasting to the 108th overall pick. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
By-the-book stuff, Raheim Sanders at the Round 5 slot squarely in line with his ranking. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They robbed the room for Hollin Pierce here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A quiet steal in slot 213: Luke Lachey for less than the market said. It fills a real need, too.
Value with a capital V on Jordan Hancock in pick 215, a genuine coup. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
They talked themselves into Gino Garcia at pick No. 222, and the board did not agree. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.