B
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders cashed the board's mistake on Starks: B.
by NunChuckz ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 7 steals
· 1 reaches
Every so often the board makes a mistake, and the Raiders were there to profit. Malaki Starks, the No. 27 name on the board, should have been long gone before Round 3, Pick 4. Nothing here to lose sleep over; call it a B.
A whole weekend of picks and edge rusher is somehow still a want. Harris has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced. They went 5 of 8 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for.
Solid rather than spectacular, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 6 they get a lead back with juice. A clean fit for the roster.
They paid up for Tre Harris at pick No. 37 when waiting would have done the job. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Somehow Malaki Starks was still sitting there in slot 68, and they pounced on premier safety value. A minor need, but a need all the same.
They will replay Darien Porter at the 108th pick for years; that is how good the value is. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Emery Jones Jr. in the Round 5 slot is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Seth McLaughlin in No. 180 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Taking CJ West in pick 213 is close to grand larceny; an interior defensive lineman that good had no business lasting this long. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
You do not let a wide receiver like Antwane Wells Jr. reach the 215th overall pick and blink. They did not. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Jay Higgins at slot 222 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.