B-
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders won the night they stopped Winston Jr. from sliding. Grade: B-.
by Cuda2183 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 6 steals
· 3 reaches
Every so often the board makes a mistake, and the Raiders were there to profit. Kevin Winston Jr., the No. 104 name on the board, should have been long gone before pick 144.
The Higgins pick is the one the value grade keeps tripping over. The phones were where this weekend was really won. The edge rusher spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
The Higgins pick reads as want over need, and the roster will feel it at edge rusher, offensive lineman and other spots.
Good work on the whole, with edge rusher the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
Derrick Harmon slipping to pick 37 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Demetrius Knight Jr. at No. 68 is money in the bank, a linebacker taken below his worth. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Tre Harris in pick No. 69 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
You do not let a safety like Xavier Watts reach slot 72 and blink. They did not. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
They let Dylan Sampson come to them and pounced at the Round 3 slot. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They paid up for Denzel Burke at Round 3, Pick 12 when waiting would have done the job. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
The eyebrow-raiser of the weekend. They went linebacker with Jay Higgins while clear needs at edge rusher, offensive lineman and other spots sat open.
Kevin Winston Jr. at the 144th overall pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Dont'e Thornton Jr. this early at slot 149. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.