D-
Las Vegas Raiders
The steal of the weekend belongs to the Raiders and Gabriel: D-.
by [email protected] ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 11 steals
· 1 reaches
Somebody in pick No. 218 was going to get robbed, and it turned out to be the rest of the league. The Raiders sat still while Dillon Gabriel, the No. 133 name on the board, slid all the way to them, then sprinted to the podium.
They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down. The cost of the Sanders reach is exactly the players who went right after him. They are betting the present roster is worth a lighter draft next spring.
On the needs board they went 8 of 8, with edge rusher the one that mattered most.
It is a steep hill from here, and the grade knows it.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 6 they get a disruptor off the edge. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Emeka Egbuka slid further than he should have, and the 37th pick is lovely value for the wide receiver. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A tidy little value on Tyler Booker in pick 41, a step better than break-even. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They robbed the room for Nick Emmanwori here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Benjamin Morrison at the Round 3 slot is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
TreVeyon Henderson at pick No. 68 is money in the bank, a running back taken below his worth. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Alfred Collins in the 73rd overall pick is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Donovan Jackson in No. 85 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
The board had Savion Williams higher than pick 107, and the wide receiver fell to them anyway. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
You do not let a quarterback like Jalen Milroe reach pick No. 121 and blink. They did not. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Brashard Smith in the 144th pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A need, and now a little less of one.
They liked Raheim Sanders enough to skip the value, taking him in slot 149. The roster fit checks out.
A straight-up fair deal on Dont'e Thornton Jr. at the Round 6 slot, value and slot in agreement. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Cobee Bryant in No. 214 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Dillon Gabriel at Round 6, Pick 40 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A top-tier tight end at a bargain, Luke Lachey in the 224th overall pick, plain and simple. It patches a soft spot without any drama.