B+
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders bet the future on Penix Jr.. The board says B+.
by JayRaider ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 3 steals
· 5 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. DJ James had no business being available in the Round 4 slot, and the Raiders did the only sane thing and turned in the card.
Michael Penix Jr. is the bet, and the class will be judged on how it pays off. The Rosengarten pick is the one the value grade keeps tripping over.
The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend. A whole weekend of picks and edge rusher is somehow still a want.
A tidy weekend of work that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
They let Michael Penix Jr. come to them and pounced at slot 20. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
T.J. Tampa in pick 49 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A wild overpay on Roger Rosengarten in pick No. 77, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They jumped the gun on Will Shipley, taking him earlier than his grade liked. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
No drama and no debate, Leonard Taylor III went about where he belonged in the 112th pick. A need, and now a little less of one.
A premium they did not need to pay, Johnny Wilson a notch or two before his time. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Christian Jones at slot 115 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
You do not let a cornerback like DJ James reach the Round 4 slot and blink. They did not. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Tyrice Knight this early at the 208th overall pick. A minor itch, scratched.
Evan Williams at Round 6, Pick 37 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Value with a capital V on Caedan Wallace in the 223rd overall pick, a genuine coup. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.