C-
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders left with their quarterback, and a C- to match.
by Cuda2183 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 13 picks
· 9 steals
· 3 reaches
When a board-topper like Jay Higgins slides to pick 212, you do not overthink it, and the Raiders did not. A mixed bag that lands at C-.
Cam Ward gives the offense a face and a plan, and the grade leans heavily on whether he hits. The trade table is where this weekend went wrong.
The cost of the Williams reach is exactly the players who went right after him. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher.
It is not that Mondon Jr. is a bad player; it is that the Raiders had louder needs to answer first.
Call it incomplete, and check back in a couple of seasons.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 14th overall pick they get their quarterback of the future at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
Nice patience on Kenneth Grant, who had no business lasting to the Round 2 slot. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A quiet steal in the 49th pick: Jonah Savaiinaea for less than the market said. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They barely believed it either: Kaleb Johnson still on the board at pick No. 68. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Matthew Golden in the 73rd overall pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
You do not let a safety like Xavier Watts reach pick 84 and blink. They did not. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Steal is underselling it; Demetrius Knight Jr. at slot 106 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Hard to square with the roster. With positions of obvious need still on the board, Smael Mondon Jr. adds a linebacker and leaves edge rusher and tight end untouched.
Jaeden Roberts in No. 142 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
The board fumbled Cam Skattebo all the way to the Round 6 slot, and they scooped it up. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They will replay Jay Higgins at Round 6, Pick 37 for years; that is how good the value is. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Nohl Williams. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Nick Nash at the 222nd pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.