B+
Las Vegas Raiders
Daniels is the Raiders' new face under center. Grade: B+.
by jerm ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 3 steals
· 4 reaches
The Raiders spent the pick that matters most on Jayden Daniels, and a roster that has been waiting on a passer can start to take shape.
Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck. The Gore Jr. reach is the anchor dragging on the value grade.
Getting Harden where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class. Leaving tight end unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
All told, a draft that does its job without fuss, and there is real value in that.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 13 they get the arm they will build around. A real need, handled.
A reach for Malachi Corley in the 44th overall pick; a little patience would have been rewarded. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They read the board right and Max Melton was the payoff at pick 95. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They talked themselves into Mohamed Kamara at the Round 4 slot, and the board did not agree. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Walter Rouse at the 169th pick is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the offensive lineman. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Value said wait; Frank Gore Jr. in No. 202 says they were not listening. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A premium they did not need to pay, Garret Greenfield a notch or two before his time. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Nathaniel Watson at Round 7, Pick 3 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
You do not let a cornerback like Myles Harden reach slot 229 and blink. They did not. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.