B+
Las Vegas Raiders
The steal of the weekend belongs to the Raiders and Walker: B+.
by Cuda2183 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 7 steals
· 1 reaches
The Raiders ran the phones like sharks, prying loose value on deal after deal until the ledger was lopsided.
That Walker pick is the receipt they will wave around later. The edge rusher hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
The cost of the McLaughlin reach is exactly the players who went right after him. The Raiders paired the rookies with proven help, Myles Garrett leading the way.
Add it up and it is a good, unfussy class.
Pick-by-Pick
Nice patience on Emeka Egbuka, who had no business lasting to pick 37. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
The board fumbled Tre Harris all the way to the 68th overall pick, and they scooped it up. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Xavier Watts in the 69th pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A minor need, but a need all the same.
A quiet steal in pick No. 73: Dylan Sampson for less than the market said. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A interior defensive lineman of that caliber at No. 94 is the definition of value, full stop. The roster fit checks out.
Donovan Jackson at Round 3, Pick 34 is money in the bank, a offensive lineman taken below his worth. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A straight-up fair deal on Smael Mondon Jr. at pick No. 107, value and slot in agreement. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A tidy little value on Jay Higgins in Round 5, Pick 5, a step better than break-even. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
Dont'e Thornton Jr. at the 181st pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
By-the-book stuff, Quincy Riley at the Round 6 slot squarely in line with his ranking. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Jordan Hancock in No. 214 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
Seth McLaughlin at the 224th overall pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.