C+
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders did enough to get by: C+.
by [email protected] ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 2 steals
· 2 reaches
The Raiders put a flag in the ground for Jimmy Horn Jr., 114 picks before anyone else would have, and the value took the hit. A weekend of give and take that grades a C+.
Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Howard. The cornerback spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
Hit on Shemar Stewart and the swing picks, and this ages a lot better than it grades today.
Pick-by-Pick
They paid sticker price for Shemar Stewart in No. 14, and that is fine. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
In the 21st pick they get a disruptive interior force. A real need, handled.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Emeka Egbuka in pick 37. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Jaxson Dart at the Round 2 slot nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. The roster fit checks out.
A clean, defensible pick in slot 68 with a little surplus value in Dylan Sampson. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Jayden Higgins in the 73rd overall pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A tidy little value on Cam Skattebo in the 107th pick, a step better than break-even. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Oronde Gadsden II in Round 5, Pick 5, miles early. A need, and now a little less of one.
Will Howard in No. 182 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Trevor Etienne at the Round 6 slot is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It fills a real need, too.
Jimmy Horn Jr. at the 218th overall pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.