B+
Las Vegas Raiders
Best value of the weekend goes to the Raiders for Barton: B+.
by TFCart ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 9 steals
· 0 reaches
Somebody in pick No. 218 was going to get robbed, and it turned out to be the rest of the league. The Raiders sat still while Lander Barton, the No. 139 name on the board, slid all the way to them, then sprinted to the podium.
The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend. For all the activity, edge rusher went untouched, which is hard to explain.
The imported veterans give this class a floor the draft picks could not on their own. They left with cornerback solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off.
All told, a draft that does its job without fuss, and there is real value in that.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 12 they get a ballhawk on the outside. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Emeka Egbuka at the 37th overall pick. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Zy Alexander slid further than he should have, and the 68th pick is lovely value for the cornerback. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They let Tez Johnson come to them and pounced at pick No. 107. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
You do not let a quarterback like Will Howard reach pick 150 and blink. They did not. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Emery Jones Jr. in Round 6, Pick 4 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Steal is underselling it; Jay Higgins at the Round 6 slot is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A minor itch, scratched.
Circle this one: Lander Barton at slot 218 is a fall that decides a draft. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Luke Lachey at the 221st pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They will replay Bhayshul Tuten at pick 224 for years; that is how good the value is. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They took Torricelli Simpkins III at par in slot 248, which is nothing to complain about. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.