B-
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders left with their quarterback, and a B- to match.
by Jareo ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 4 steals
· 8 reaches
There was a run on nobody at that position, and the Raiders started one anyway for J.J. Weaver, 119 picks ahead of schedule. The bottom line is a respectable B-.
Landing Skattebo that late papers over a lot of smaller sins. Whatever Jalen Milroe becomes, the front office has tied its fortunes to the answer. The tight end spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
Edge rusher was the priority and it is no longer a question, which is most of the job.
All told, a draft that does its job without fuss, and there is real value in that.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 13 they get the face of the franchise, a steep price for the projection.
A wild overpay on JT Tuimoloau in No. 39, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Tyler Booker in Round 2, Pick 12 lands just on the right side of the ledger. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
By-the-book stuff, Jayden Higgins at the 69th pick squarely in line with his ranking. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They talked themselves into Ajani Cornelius at slot 70, and the board did not agree. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They robbed the room for Quinshon Judkins here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. The roster fit checks out.
A top-tier linebacker at a bargain, Barrett Carter in No. 146, plain and simple. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Cobee Bryant in slot 148 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.
They reached a country mile for Ricky White III at Round 5, Pick 33, and the board is aghast. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Tonka Hemingway in pick 183, miles early. It fills a real need, too.
They will replay Chris Paul Jr. at the 209th pick for years; that is how good the value is. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
Cam Skattebo in the 212th overall pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Tim Smith this early at the Round 6 slot. A need, and now a little less of one.
J.J. Weaver in pick No. 223 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.