A
Las Vegas Raiders
Larceny in pick 212 lands the Raiders a A, Mondon Jr. and all.
by Cuda2183 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 10 steals
· 1 reaches
The best pick of the weekend was also the simplest. The Raiders watched Smael Mondon Jr. slide 102 picks past his grade and did not hesitate. A near-flawless weekend of work, and a A to cap it.
They robbed the room blind at the table, and it lifts the grade on its own. Reaching for Howard left real value on the table behind him.
They will regret leaving edge rusher for another day if the season turns on it. The Raiders clearly valued win-now help, adding bodies who have done it before.
Add it up and this is about as clean as a draft weekend gets.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a true top target. Exactly the need they had to hit.
They let Shavon Revel Jr. come to them and pounced at No. 37. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
The board had TreVeyon Henderson higher than the 68th overall pick, and the running back fell to them anyway. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Alfred Collins in Round 3, Pick 9 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Value said wait; Will Howard in pick No. 106 says they were not listening. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Steal is underselling it; Quinshon Judkins at pick 142 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It fills a real need, too.
Taking Kevin Winston Jr. in slot 156 is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Jake Majors in the 178th pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Circle this one: Smael Mondon Jr. at No. 212 is a fall that decides a draft. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Jeffrey Bassa in pick 216 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
Somehow Jordan Hancock was still sitting there in the Round 7 slot, and they pounced on premier safety value. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Seth McLaughlin at pick No. 235 is the proof. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.