B-
Las Vegas Raiders
A sensible, unshowy class lands the Raiders a B-.
by 2024 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 4 steals
· 2 reaches
The Raiders put a flag in the ground for Devin Leary, 65 picks before anyone else would have, and the value took the hit. No fireworks, but a solid B-.
A whole weekend of picks and edge rusher is somehow still a want. That is a wide receiver worth more than the slot they spent on him, plainly. Job largely done: wide receiver settled and 4 of 8 of the wish list covered.
Not a headline-grabber, but a perfectly good weekend's work.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a plug-and-play piece up front. Exactly the need they had to hit.
A conviction pick on Kingsley Suamataia at pick No. 44 that the board grades a round light. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Circle this one: Jermaine Burton at the 77th pick is a fall that decides a draft. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Jalen McMillan at No. 113. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A linebacker of that caliber at Round 5, Pick 11 is the definition of value, full stop. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
You do not let a wide receiver like Cornelius Johnson reach slot 210 and blink. They did not. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
No edge and no loss on Rasheen Ali in Round 7, Pick 1; it is a wash and a sensible one. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Devin Leary. A need, and now a little less of one.
Tayvion Robinson at the 227th pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.