Somewhere a scout is still blinking. The Raiders spent the 199th pick on Tommy Mellott, a name the board had a full 152 spots lower. The board sounded every alarm, and the F is the fallout.
The Sabb pick alone nudges the whole weekend up a notch. Whatever Shedeur Sanders becomes, the front office has tied its fortunes to the answer. The dealing is the wound this class cannot quite close.
The wide receiver spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. It is a win-now wager, and the future is the stake.
About as rough as a weekend gets on paper, with wide receiver still staring back at them.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.1
· Pick 1
· Shedeur Sanders
· QB
· rank 3
In pick 1 they get a franchise quarterback at fair value.
R1.3
· Pick 3
· Travis Hunter
· CB
· rank 1
In No. 3 they get an island corner. The biggest hole, addressed.
R2.23
· Pick 55
· Mykel Williams
· DE-EDGE
· rank 23
A top-tier edge rusher at a bargain, Mykel Williams in the 55th pick, plain and simple. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
R3.15
· Pick 79
· Dylan Fairchild
· OG
· rank 59
You do not let an offensive lineman like Dylan Fairchild reach Round 3, Pick 15 and blink. They did not. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
R4.3
· Pick 104
· Omarr Norman-Lott
· DT
· rank 78
They will replay Omarr Norman-Lott at the Round 4 slot for years; that is how good the value is. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
R4.14
· Pick 115
· Dillon Gabriel
· QB
· rank 117
No edge and no loss on Dillon Gabriel in slot 115; it is a wash and a sensible one. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
R4.20
· Pick 121
· TreVeyon Henderson
· RB
· rank 64
Steal is underselling it; TreVeyon Henderson at slot 121 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. The roster fit checks out.
R4.21
· Pick 122
· Quinshon Judkins
· RB
· rank 76
Taking Quinshon Judkins in the 122nd overall pick is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
R6.24
· Pick 199
· Tommy Mellott
· QB
· rank 351
Tommy Mellott at the 199th pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
R6.36
· Pick 211
· Keon Sabb
· S
· rank 107
Keon Sabb in the Round 6 slot is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
R7.42
· Pick 256
· Shilo Sanders
· S
· rank 247
The board had Shilo Sanders higher than Round 7, Pick 42, and the safety fell to them anyway. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.