B-
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders did the meat-and-potatoes work well: B-.
by Jsmoczy57 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 1 steals
· 6 reaches
There was a run on nobody at that position, and the Raiders started one anyway for Xavier Truss, 65 picks ahead of schedule.
That is a safety worth more than the slot they spent on him, plainly. A whole weekend of picks and tight end is somehow still a want. The roster is better shaped than it was, with edge rusher chief among the fixes.
The offense got the lion's share of the attention.
Solid rather than spectacular, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 6th overall pick they get a centerpiece for the ground game. A clean fit for the roster.
They reached into another round for Jaxson Dart, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Jordan Burch at pick 68 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They took Malachi Moore at par in the Round 3 slot, which is nothing to complain about. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Hayden Conner in pick No. 106, miles early. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Dorian Strong at No. 142 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Dont'e Thornton Jr. at pick 178 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They talked themselves into Xavier Truss at Round 6, Pick 37, and the board did not agree. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Somehow Upton Stout was still sitting there in the Round 6 slot, and they pounced on premier safety value. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
They paid a round early for Roc Taylor in the 222nd overall pick, more than the board wanted. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.