D+
Las Vegas Raiders
A costly weekend of dealing drags the Raiders to a D+.
by mommy ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 18 picks
· 11 steals
· 5 reaches
It is the swing that defines the weekend: Jack Westover in slot 255, a good 66 spots before the room expected him. A D+ that will need time and luck to look better.
The trades bled value they could not afford to lose. They will regret leaving quarterback for another day if the season turns on it.
Landing Dixon that late papers over a lot of smaller sins. On the needs board they went 7 of 8, with edge rusher the one that mattered most.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 13th pick they get a press-man option on the boundary. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
A clean, defensible pick in the Round 2 slot with a little surplus value in Keon Coleman. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Chris Braswell at Round 2, Pick 25. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Mike Sainristil at No. 77 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They let Calen Bullock come to them and pounced at slot 89. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Fabien Lovett in pick 126 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A slide stopped in slot 127, with Sataoa Laumea worth more than the price. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
The board had Chau Smith-Wade higher than Round 5, Pick 11, and the cornerback fell to them anyway. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Ty'Ron Hopper in the 152nd overall pick, miles early. A minor itch, scratched.
The board had cheaper options than Delmar Glaze at pick 168, and it noticed. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Jase McClellan is a better player than No. 203 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Kendall Milton in pick No. 211 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Value with a capital V on Nathaniel Watson in the Round 7 slot, a genuine coup. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
The board fumbled Nathan Thomas all the way to the 225th pick, and they scooped it up. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Steal is underselling it; Johnny Dixon at slot 227 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Taking Tahj Washington in Round 7, Pick 14 is close to grand larceny; a wide receiver that good had no business lasting this long. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They reached a country mile for Tyler Owens at the 244th overall pick, and the board is aghast. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
Jack Westover at pick No. 255 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.