B+
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders robbed the room for Moore. Final grade: B+.
by [email protected] ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 5 steals
· 6 reaches
The Raiders did not reach, did not trade up, did not blink. They just waited, and Malachi Moore fell into the 197th overall pick. Nothing here to lose sleep over; call it a B+.
The Martin pick is the one the value grade keeps tripping over. The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend. A whole weekend of picks and edge rusher is somehow still a want.
Not a headline-grabber, but a perfectly good weekend's work.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 30 they get a coverage-and-run second-level piece, even if it was a touch early. More want than need.
A premium they did not need to pay, Xavier Watts a notch or two before his time. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Benjamin Morrison at the Round 2 slot is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
TreVeyon Henderson in No. 51 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A need, and now a little less of one.
Darien Porter in the 56th overall pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
No drama and no debate, Jayden Higgins went about where he belonged in pick 68. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Jordan Phillips in Round 3, Pick 21, miles early. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A straight-up fair deal on Hollin Pierce at the 108th pick, value and slot in agreement. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Bhayshul Tuten well ahead of where he belonged. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Circle this one: Will Howard at the 143rd pick is a fall that decides a draft. The roster fit checks out.
By-the-book stuff, Oronde Gadsden II at the 180th overall pick squarely in line with his ranking. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A reasonable price with a little left over, KeAndre Lambert-Smith in the Round 6 slot. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Somehow Malachi Moore was still sitting there in Round 6, Pick 21, and they pounced on premier safety value. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
A running back of that caliber at pick 206 is the definition of value, full stop. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Willie Lampkin at slot 213 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Nick Martin in pick No. 215 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
Jordan Hancock at the Round 7 slot is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.