B
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders let Smith fall into their laps, and walked away with a B.
by Raiders ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 6 steals
· 0 reaches
The value of the weekend has a name and a slot: Brashard Smith, the Round 6 slot, roughly 84 picks past where he belonged. Good, not great, and the B says as much.
That offensive lineman hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. Edge rusher is handled and the depth chart looks a good deal healthier for it. The skill positions did well by the weekend.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but offensive lineman.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 6th pick they get a featured back. A real need, handled.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Emeka Egbuka in Round 2, Pick 5. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Circle this one: JT Tuimoloau at No. 68 is a fall that decides a draft. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Will Howard at pick 108 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the quarterback. The roster fit checks out.
A cornerback of that caliber at slot 143 is the definition of value, full stop. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Cody Simon at the 180th overall pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Jordan Hancock at pick No. 213 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Taking Brashard Smith in the Round 6 slot is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They barely believed it either: Ollie Gordon II still on the board at pick 222. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.