B-
Las Vegas Raiders
Sanders is the Raiders' new face under center. Grade: B-.
by [email protected] ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 6 steals
· 3 reaches
Somewhere a scout is still blinking. The Raiders spent the Round 6 slot on Jimmy Horn Jr., a name the board had a full 92 spots lower.
The whole projection now runs through Shedeur Sanders; hit there and everything else looks smarter. That is a linebacker worth more than the slot they spent on him, plainly. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher.
The roster is better shaped than it was, with cornerback chief among the fixes.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the edge rusher spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get the face of the franchise. A clean fit for the roster.
Jalon Walker is a better player than Round 2, Pick 5 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
They robbed the room for Trey Amos here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
TreVeyon Henderson at slot 73 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. The roster fit checks out.
Quinshon Judkins at the 106th pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Circle this one: Danny Stutsman at pick 142 is a fall that decides a draft. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
Oronde Gadsden II in the 178th pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A real head-scratcher, Shilo Sanders in the Round 6 slot is miles ahead of his ranking. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Jimmy Horn Jr. in slot 216 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They talked themselves into Will Sheppard at the 222nd overall pick, and the board did not agree. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.