B-
Las Vegas Raiders
Quarterback settled, Ward in the fold, and a B- for the Raiders.
by jonniep ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 7 steals
· 2 reaches
The war room fell hard for Barryn Sorrell, and it showed at the Round 5 slot: 154 picks ahead of a board that had other ideas. It nets out to a B-, which feels about right.
They banked enough surplus on Skattebo to cover a lot of smaller sins. The whole projection now runs through Cam Ward; hit there and everything else looks smarter.
A whole weekend of picks and cornerback is somehow still a want.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the cornerback spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 6th overall pick they get a passer to set the clock by. A clean fit for the roster.
Walter Nolen is a better player than No. 37 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Somehow Jihaad Campbell was still sitting there in the 68th pick, and they pounced on premier linebacker value. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Xavier Watts in pick No. 73 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
A top-tier offensive lineman at a bargain, Tate Ratledge in the Round 4 slot, plain and simple. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Barryn Sorrell in pick 142, miles early. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They robbed the room for Smael Mondon Jr. here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
Taking Cam Skattebo in the 212th overall pick is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Circle this one: Raheim Sanders at Round 6, Pick 41 is a fall that decides a draft. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Will Sheppard at slot 222 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.