B
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders cashed the board's mistake on Bassa: B.
by Cuda2183 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 10 steals
· 1 reaches
This is the pick they will still be bragging about in July: Jeffrey Bassa, the No. 131 name on the board, stolen at No. 212.
Reaching for McLaughlin left real value on the table behind him. The edge rusher hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
With edge rusher, quarterback and other spots unsolved, spending premium capital on linebacker is the choice that costs them.
All told, a draft that does its job without fuss, and there is real value in that.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 23 they get a weapon on the perimeter. Exactly the need they had to hit.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Kenneth Grant in the Round 2 slot. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They paid sticker price for Tre Harris in No. 45, and that is fine. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A market-rate cornerback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Zy Alexander. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They barely believed it either: Xavier Watts still on the board at Round 3, Pick 4. It adds depth where they could use a little.
A straight-up fair deal on Tate Ratledge at pick No. 73, value and slot in agreement. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Demetrius Knight Jr. slipping to the 76th overall pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Omarion Hampton at pick 106 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A surprising call. With edge rusher, quarterback and other spots still to address, they spent Round 4, Pick 14 on Barrett Carter, a linebacker they were not short of.
They robbed the room for Quinshon Judkins here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Jay Higgins at the Round 5 slot is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
Nick Nash in pick 150 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Jake Majors in the 170th overall pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A top-tier linebacker at a bargain, Smael Mondon Jr. in No. 178, plain and simple. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
They reached a country mile for Seth McLaughlin at the 196th pick, and the board is aghast. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Steal is underselling it; Jeffrey Bassa at pick No. 212 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.