B
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders bet the future on Sanders. The board says B.
by tycobb2211 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 10 steals
· 0 reaches
The one hole that towered over the rest is filled. The Raiders spent their marquee pick on Shedeur Sanders, and for the first time in a while there is a real answer at quarterback. A dependable weekend that grades out a B.
The Reed pick is the one they will point to when this weekend is judged. For all the activity, edge rusher went untouched, which is hard to explain.
The roster is better shaped than it was, with cornerback chief among the fixes. It is a bet on later, and a defensible one for a team playing the long game.
Bottom line, more hits than misses and a roster nudged the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
No drama and no debate, Shedeur Sanders went about where he belonged in Round 1, Pick 6. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Elic Ayomanor slipping to pick 68 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A cornerback of that caliber at the 73rd pick is the definition of value, full stop. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Taking Ozzy Trapilo in the Round 4 slot is close to grand larceny; an offensive lineman that good had no business lasting this long. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They will replay Malachi Moore at No. 144 for years; that is how good the value is. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Nice patience on Tommi Hill, who had no business lasting to the 167th overall pick. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Steal is underselling it; Ollie Gordon II at pick No. 182 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A need, and now a little less of one.
They let Kyle Monangai come to them and pounced at slot 214. The roster fit checks out.
They read the board right and Ricky White III was the payoff at No. 218. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A top-tier safety at a bargain, Jaylen Reed in pick No. 224, plain and simple. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
You do not let a linebacker like Jack Kiser reach slot 243 and blink. They did not. It adds depth where they could use a little.