B+
Las Vegas Raiders
Williams should have been long gone. The Raiders pounced, and earned a B+.
by [email protected] ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 7 steals
· 3 reaches
Somewhere a general manager is explaining how Nohl Williams got past him. The Raiders do not have to explain a thing at slot 213.
Reaching for Gadsden II left real value on the table behind him. They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. A whole weekend of picks and edge rusher is somehow still a want.
The imported veterans give this class a floor the draft picks could not on their own.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but edge rusher.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 20th pick they get a difference-maker at receiver. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Jihaad Campbell in slot 37 is fair value, right on his grade. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A market-rate safety, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Xavier Watts. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Good price on Aireontae Ersery in the Round 2 slot, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A tidy little value on Quinshon Judkins in pick 68, a step better than break-even. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Jayden Higgins slipping to No. 76 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They jumped the gun on Cam Skattebo, taking him earlier than his grade liked. A need, and now a little less of one.
They let Will Howard come to them and pounced at pick No. 119. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
The board fumbled Hollin Pierce all the way to the Round 5 slot, and they scooped it up. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
No drama and no debate, Bhayshul Tuten went about where he belonged in Round 5, Pick 11. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Value said wait; Dont'e Thornton Jr. in the 152nd pick says they were not listening. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A real head-scratcher, Oronde Gadsden II in pick 153 is miles ahead of his ranking. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Quincy Riley at pick No. 180 is money in the bank, a cornerback taken below his worth. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Donovan Edwards in the 208th overall pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A top-tier wide receiver at a bargain, Roc Taylor in No. 211, plain and simple. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They will replay Nohl Williams at slot 213 for years; that is how good the value is. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.