B+
Las Vegas Raiders
Penix Jr. is the Raiders' new face under center. Grade: B+.
by JayRaider ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 7 steals
· 2 reaches
The Raiders torched the value chart for Jordan Jefferson, taking him 69 spots sooner than anyone had him slotted.
Everything downstream of Michael Penix Jr. depends on Michael Penix Jr., and the building knows it. However the rest shakes out, Hopper at that price is a win they earned.
The dealing alone would carry a lesser class. The edge rusher hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
Bottom line, more hits than misses and a roster nudged the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 18 they get the face of the franchise, outstanding value to boot. A real need, handled.
Nate Wiggins at pick No. 44 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Tyler Guyton at the Round 2 slot is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They barely believed it either: Xavier Legette still on the board at slot 77. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Will Shipley in pick 112 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Jordan Jefferson at the 115th overall pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Circle this one: Jarvis Brownlee Jr. at Round 5, Pick 12 is a fall that decides a draft. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They robbed the room for Ty'Ron Hopper here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Caedan Wallace in the Round 7 slot is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They talked themselves into LaDarius Henderson at the 229th pick, and the board did not agree. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.