A-
Las Vegas Raiders
Larceny in the Round 7 slot lands the Raiders a A-, Stout and all.
by Jades357 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 13 picks
· 10 steals
· 0 reaches
Somewhere a general manager is explaining how Upton Stout got past him. The Raiders do not have to explain a thing at the 224th overall pick.
The Schwesinger pick reads as want over need, and the roster will feel it at edge rusher, quarterback and other spots. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped edge rusher, which is a strange place to end up. The Christian Kirk pickup adds a known quantity to a class of unknowns.
On the needs board they went 3 of 8, with cornerback the one that mattered most.
Add it up and few war rooms did better this weekend, Nick Emmanwori and all.
Pick-by-Pick
They did well to land Nick Emmanwori in slot 25, just ahead of his grade. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
They paid sticker price for Jihaad Campbell in the 39th overall pick, and that is fine. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A wide receiver of that caliber at the Round 3 slot is the definition of value, full stop. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
The eyebrow-raiser of the weekend. They went linebacker with Carson Schwesinger while clear needs at edge rusher, quarterback and other spots sat open.
Darien Porter is a better player than Round 3, Pick 25 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Nice patience on Charles Grant, who had no business lasting to No. 108. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A tidy bit of business in the 143rd pick, where Jake Majors graded well above the range. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They will replay Logan Brown at pick No. 180 for years; that is how good the value is. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Antwane Wells Jr. at pick No. 213 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
KeAndre Lambert-Smith in the Round 7 slot is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Taking Upton Stout in the 224th pick is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
A market-rate cornerback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Jabbar Muhammad. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They barely believed it either: Joshua Gray still on the board at pick 240. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.