B+
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders fleeced the room on the phones and earned a B+.
by ilikedunes ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 4 steals
· 1 reaches
Give the war room a raise for the dealing alone. The Raiders came out ahead on every exchange that mattered, and it was not close. No fireworks, but a solid B+.
The edge rusher spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. They are betting Estime proves the room right and everyone else wrong.
The Burke steal is the beam this whole class leans on.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but edge rusher.
Pick-by-Pick
Patrick Paul at No. 44 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Denzel Burke in the Round 3 slot. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Audric Estime this early at the 92nd pick. It fills a real need, too.
They paid sticker price for Blake Fisher in slot 112, and that is fine. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A tidy bit of business in pick No. 121, where Brenden Rice graded well above the range. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A market-rate linebacker, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Smael Mondon Jr.. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
The board had Max Melton higher than the 128th overall pick, and the cornerback fell to them anyway. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Malik Mustapha in pick 152 lands just on the right side of the ledger. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
A quiet steal in pick 190: Ricky White for less than the market said. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.