D
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders left with their quarterback, and a D to match.
by [email protected] ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 13 picks
· 4 steals
· 3 reaches
There is conviction, and then there is this. The Raiders took Jaydon Blue a full 101 picks ahead of where the board had him, an overdraft steep enough that it colors the whole weekend. A D that will need time and luck to look better.
The trades bled value they could not afford to lose. Whatever Shedeur Sanders becomes, the front office has tied its fortunes to the answer.
They punted on edge rusher, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest. If one pick saves this weekend, it is Belton.
They are betting the present roster is worth a lighter draft next spring.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even, and edge rusher is still a hole.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 12 they get their quarterback of the future. A real need, handled.
Fair-plus on Josh Simmons, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They let Emeka Egbuka come to them and pounced at slot 37. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A market-rate linebacker, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Jihaad Campbell. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Aireontae Ersery at pick No. 41 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
No edge and no loss on Darien Porter in pick 68; it is a wash and a sensible one. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They jumped the gun on Cam Skattebo, taking him earlier than his grade liked. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Andrew Mukuba at the 108th pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
They robbed the room for Anthony Belton here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Dont'e Thornton Jr. in the Round 6 slot is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Somehow Donovan Edwards was still sitting there in Round 6, Pick 37, and they pounced on premier running back value. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Jaydon Blue at the 215th overall pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Garrett Dellinger in pick 222 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.