B
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders let Martinez fall into their laps, and walked away with a B.
by [email protected] ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 15 picks
· 10 steals
· 1 reaches
Somewhere a general manager is explaining how Damien Martinez got past him. The Raiders do not have to explain a thing at the 218th overall pick. Good, not great, and the B says as much.
They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. The edge rusher hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
They are betting Jackson proves the room right and everyone else wrong. They went 6 of 8 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for.
Not a headline-grabber, but a perfectly good weekend's work.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 6 they get a load in the middle at fair value. A real need, handled.
Shavon Revel Jr. slipping to pick 37 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They paid sticker price for Tyler Booker in Round 2, Pick 7, and that is fine. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Jaxson Dart at the Round 3 slot is money in the bank, a quarterback taken below his worth. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A tidy bit of business in No. 72, where TreVeyon Henderson graded well above the range. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They liked Donovan Jackson enough to skip the value, taking him in the 73rd overall pick. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Darien Porter at the 74th pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Jayden Higgins in slot 94 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Savion Williams slid further than he should have, and the Round 4 slot is lovely value for the wide receiver. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Kevin Winston Jr. at pick No. 144 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A minor itch, scratched.
The board fumbled Will Howard all the way to the 149th overall pick, and they scooped it up. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
No drama and no debate, Dont'e Thornton Jr. went about where he belonged in slot 182. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
JJ Pegues in pick 214 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. The roster fit checks out.
They barely believed it either: Damien Martinez still on the board at No. 218. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Ollie Gordon II at the 224th pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It fills a real need, too.