A-
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders turned the phones into found money: A-.
by [email protected] ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 9 steals
· 1 reaches
Some picks age like wine; Nick Martin at pick 218 will need to, sitting 47 spots clear of his grade.
They banked enough surplus on Wells Jr. to cover a lot of smaller sins. The dealing alone would carry a lesser class. For all the activity, cornerback went untouched, which is hard to explain.
The Raiders paired the rookies with proven help, Adonai Mitchell leading the way.
The kind of weekend a front office frames and hangs on the wall.
Pick-by-Pick
A tidy little value on Shemar Stewart in pick No. 20, a step better than break-even. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Kenneth Grant at No. 37 is money in the bank, a interior defensive lineman taken below his worth. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Emeka Egbuka at the 45th overall pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Jihaad Campbell in Round 2, Pick 19. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
TreVeyon Henderson at pick 68 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Jalen Milroe at the Round 4 slot is the proof. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Kevin Winston Jr. at the Round 4 slot is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
They barely believed it either: Brashard Smith still on the board at the 144th overall pick. A need, and now a little less of one.
A market-rate tight end, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Oronde Gadsden II. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Donovan Edwards at pick No. 214 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A real head-scratcher, Nick Martin in the 218th pick is miles ahead of his ranking. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Taking Antwane Wells Jr. in Round 7, Pick 6 is close to grand larceny; a wide receiver that good had no business lasting this long. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.