B-
Las Vegas Raiders
McCarthy is the Raiders' new face under center. Grade: B-.
by BeastOnTheGrid ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 2 steals
· 2 reaches
Start where it matters. The Raiders took J.J. McCarthy to run the offense for the next decade, and every other decision this weekend bends around that one. Call it a sensible B-, earned the boring way.
They covered a lot of ground and still skipped edge rusher, which is a strange place to end up. That Arnold pick is the receipt they will wave around later.
If Van Pran pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about. Small wins on the phones, but wins all the same.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the edge rusher spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a long-term starter on the line. The biggest hole, addressed.
In slot 32 they get the face of the franchise, reach and all. A real need, handled.
Value with a capital V on Terrion Arnold in the 35th overall pick, a genuine coup. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They paid a round early for Sedrick Van Pran in the 77th pick, more than the board wanted. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Cooper Beebe in Round 4, Pick 12 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
No edge and no loss on Ben Sinnott in pick No. 150; it is a wash and a sensible one. It fills a real need, too.
They read the board right and Christian Jones was the payoff at pick 190. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Cody Schrader in No. 234 is fair value, right on his grade. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.