B
Las Vegas Raiders
Grand theft in the Round 6 slot: the Raiders steal Sanker and grade out a B.
by PD Pete ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 9 steals
· 0 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. Jonas Sanker had no business being available in pick No. 180, and the Raiders did the only sane thing and turned in the card. A dependable weekend that grades out a B.
The tight end hole is the one line item this class does not answer. Edge rusher is handled and the depth chart looks a good deal healthier for it. They trusted the board more than the depth chart.
Quantity was the play, for better or worse.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the tight end spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a go-to option on the outside. The biggest hole, addressed.
They let Jalon Walker come to them and pounced at pick No. 37. A minor need, but a need all the same.
The board fumbled Omarion Hampton all the way to No. 49, and they scooped it up. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Trey Amos in Round 3, Pick 4 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A edge rusher of that caliber at the 81st pick is the definition of value, full stop. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Will Howard at slot 108 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They will replay Ozzy Trapilo at pick 119 for years; that is how good the value is. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Jared Wilson in the 143rd overall pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Circle this one: Jonas Sanker at the 180th pick is a fall that decides a draft. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
JJ Pegues in pick No. 213 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A market-rate wide receiver, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Ricky White III. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, R.J. Mickens at the 222nd overall pick. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.