D-
Las Vegas Raiders
The steal of the weekend belongs to the Raiders and Gordon II: D-.
by [email protected] ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 6 steals
· 2 reaches
Every swap seemed to tilt away from the Raiders, and the value they bled adds up to real damage. Too much went sideways, and the D- is the honest tally.
They covered a lot of ground and still skipped edge rusher, which is a strange place to end up. If Thornton Jr. pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about.
They banked enough surplus on Gordon II to cover a lot of smaller sins. The Trevon Diggs pickup adds a known quantity to a class of unknowns.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 12 they get a cornerstone up front at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Kenneth Grant in the 33rd pick. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Nick Emmanwori in slot 37 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A minor itch, scratched.
They paid sticker price for Dylan Sampson in the Round 3 slot, and that is fine. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They jumped the gun on Darien Porter, taking him earlier than his grade liked. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A tidy little value on Quinshon Judkins in pick No. 73, a step better than break-even. The roster fit checks out.
A offensive lineman of that caliber at the 107th pick is the definition of value, full stop. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Will Howard in pick 144 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Dont'e Thornton Jr. in the 165th overall pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
JJ Pegues at pick No. 182 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
You do not let a wide receiver like KeAndre Lambert-Smith reach the Round 6 slot and blink. They did not. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Taking Ollie Gordon II in No. 218 is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. It fills a real need, too.