B
Las Vegas Raiders
Good, not great, for the Raiders: B.
by GermanRaider ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 4 steals
· 7 reaches
The Raiders looked at the value chart, folded it up, and took DJ Uiagalelei at the 106th pick regardless, 161 picks early.
They banked enough surplus on Mondon Jr. to cover a lot of smaller sins. For all the activity, tight end went untouched, which is hard to explain. Adding Riley Moss by trade rounds out the weekend beyond the rookies.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 20 they get a building block for the line, though the board says they badly overpaid. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Emeka Egbuka is a better player than the 37th pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A top-tier running back at a bargain, Omarion Hampton in pick 51, plain and simple. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A reach for Donovan Jackson in No. 68; a little patience would have been rewarded. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Azareye'h Thomas at the Round 3 slot is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
DJ Uiagalelei at the 106th overall pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It fills a real need, too.
They reached a country mile for Ricky White III at the Round 5 slot, and the board is aghast. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Smael Mondon Jr. in No. 178 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A minor need, but a need all the same.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins in pick No. 212, miles early. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A real head-scratcher, Tim Smith in the 216th overall pick is miles ahead of his ranking. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They robbed the room for Trevor Etienne here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A need, and now a little less of one.
