The move everyone will second-guess came early. The Raiders reached some 134 spots for Mitchell Evans, and value like that does not grow back. About as rough as the board gets, and a F to prove it.
The Smith value carries more weight than any single miss elsewhere. They handed away value on the phones that the picks cannot earn back.
Shedeur Sanders is the bet, and the class will be judged on how it pays off. The Schwesinger pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with edge rusher and interior defensive lineman still on the board.
They covered a lot of ground and still skipped edge rusher, which is a strange place to end up. It is a win-now wager, and the future is the stake.
About as rough as a weekend gets on paper, with edge rusher still staring back at them.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.1
· Pick 1
· Shedeur Sanders
· QB
· rank 3
In pick No. 1 they get a franchise quarterback at fair value.
R1.3
· Pick 3
· Travis Hunter
· CB
· rank 1
In Round 1, Pick 3 they get a potential shutdown corner. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
R2.2
· Pick 34
· Emeka Egbuka
· WR
· rank 28
Emeka Egbuka in the Round 2 slot is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
R3.18
· Pick 82
· Kamari Ramsey
· S
· rank 38
Somehow Kamari Ramsey was still sitting there in the 82nd overall pick, and they pounced on premier safety value. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
R3.20
· Pick 84
· Tyler Warren
· TE
· rank 44
Tyler Warren in the 84th pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
R4.2
· Pick 103
· TreVeyon Henderson
· RB
· rank 61
A running back of that caliber at slot 103 is the definition of value, full stop. The roster fit checks out.
R4.19
· Pick 120
· Deontae Lawson
· LB
· rank 84
Deontae Lawson in No. 120 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
R4.35
· Pick 136
· Jake Majors
· C
· rank 95
Jake Majors at Round 4, Pick 35 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
R4.37
· Pick 138
· Carson Schwesinger
· LB
· rank 132
A curious use of slot 138. Edge rusher and interior defensive lineman needed the pick; a linebacker in Carson Schwesinger did not.
R6.2
· Pick 177
· Seth McLaughlin
· C
· rank 212
They talked themselves into Seth McLaughlin at pick 177, and the board did not agree. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
R6.3
· Pick 178
· Nick Nash
· QB
· rank 253
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Nick Nash. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
R6.4
· Pick 179
· Lathan Ransom
· S
· rank 107
You do not let a safety like Lathan Ransom reach pick No. 179 and blink. They did not. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
R6.18
· Pick 193
· Mitchell Evans
· TE
· rank 327
A big swing on Mitchell Evans at the 193rd pick, well ahead of any board in the building. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
R7.2
· Pick 216
· DJ Uiagalelei
· QB
· rank 272
A real head-scratcher, DJ Uiagalelei in the 216th overall pick is miles ahead of his ranking. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
R7.3
· Pick 217
· Brashard Smith
· RB
· rank 108
They barely believed it either: Brashard Smith still on the board at pick 217. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
