B-
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders answered their biggest question with Ward. Grade: B-.
by Cuda21 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 5 steals
· 2 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. Jay Higgins had no business being available in pick No. 193, and the Raiders did the only sane thing and turned in the card. Good, not great, and the B- says as much.
Everything downstream of Cam Ward depends on Cam Ward, and the building knows it. The edge rusher hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
The Nash reach is the anchor dragging on the value grade.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the edge rusher spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a No. 1 receiver at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In pick No. 10 they get their guy under center for the next decade. A real need, handled.
They barely believed it either: Kaleb Johnson still on the board at No. 73. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
The board fumbled Andrew Mukuba all the way to the 106th pick, and they scooped it up. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Smael Mondon Jr. in the Round 5 slot is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Steal is underselling it; Cam Skattebo at Round 6, Pick 3 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Jay Higgins in pick No. 193 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
They paid sticker price for Brandon Adams in slot 212, and that is fine. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They liked Kaden Prather enough to skip the value, taking him in pick 216. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They talked themselves into Nick Nash at the 222nd overall pick, and the board did not agree. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.