C+
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders finally solved quarterback, and it carried them to a C+.
by Willyboys ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 1 steals
· 7 reaches
There is conviction, and then there is this. The Raiders took Maliq Carr a full 299 picks ahead of where the board had him, an overdraft steep enough that it colors the whole weekend.
Shedeur Sanders is the bet, and the class will be judged on how it pays off. That Burnip pick is the receipt they will wave around later. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher.
They went 5 of 8 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for.
Bottom line, the swing picks will decide whether this ages well.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 6 they get a passer to set the clock by. A real need, handled.
They reached into another round for Isaiah Bond, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Maliq Carr this early at the 68th overall pick. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Donald Chaney in Round 4, Pick 6 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A real head-scratcher, Jalen Travis in slot 143 is miles ahead of his ranking. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A top-tier specialist at a bargain, James Burnip in the Round 6 slot, plain and simple. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, KJ Jefferson well ahead of where he belonged. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Rayuan Lane III at Round 6, Pick 39 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
A wild overpay on Will Sheppard in the 222nd overall pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.