B+
Las Vegas Raiders
Skattebo should have been long gone. The Raiders pounced, and earned a B+.
by Cuda21 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 6 steals
· 3 reaches
The best pick of the weekend was also the simplest. The Raiders watched Cam Skattebo slide 99 picks past his grade and did not hesitate.
Reaching for Thornton Jr. left real value on the table behind him. The dealing alone would carry a lesser class. That edge rusher hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
Adding Trey Lance by trade rounds out the weekend beyond the rookies.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the edge rusher spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
They did well to land Tetairoa McMillan in the 12th pick, just ahead of his grade. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Benjamin Morrison in pick 37 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Value said wait; Quinn Ewers in pick No. 68 says they were not listening. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
The board fumbled Josh Conerly Jr. all the way to Round 3, Pick 9, and they scooped it up. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They barely believed it either: Quinshon Judkins still on the board at the 107th overall pick. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A wild overpay on Dont'e Thornton Jr. in No. 142, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Danny Stutsman at slot 179 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A minor itch, scratched.
You do not let a running back like Cam Skattebo reach the Round 6 slot and blink. They did not. A need, and now a little less of one.
Cody Simon in No. 216 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
Seth McLaughlin slipping to the 222nd pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.