B
Las Vegas Raiders
Ward is the plan now, and the Raiders grade out a B.
by JayRaider ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 6 steals
· 2 reaches
They finally answered the question that shadows every other one. Cam Ward is the Raiders' quarterback, full stop.
They banked enough surplus on Higgins to cover a lot of smaller sins. Every board in the league had Simpkins III lower, and that gap is the story.
They covered a lot of ground and still skipped edge rusher, which is a strange place to end up.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but edge rusher.
Pick-by-Pick
They took Cam Ward at par in slot 6, which is nothing to complain about. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Emeka Egbuka is a better player than the 37th pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A tidy bit of business in pick 68, where TreVeyon Henderson graded well above the range. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A straight-up fair deal on Maxwell Hairston at the 73rd overall pick, value and slot in agreement. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They robbed the room for Sebastian Castro here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Anthony Belton in the Round 5 slot is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Simeon Barrow Jr. in pick No. 182 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. The roster fit checks out.
A wide receiver of that caliber at No. 214 is the definition of value, full stop. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Jay Higgins at the 218th pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Value said wait; Torricelli Simpkins III in the 224th overall pick says they were not listening. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.