D+
Las Vegas Raiders
Best value of the weekend goes to the Raiders for Castro: D+.
by Mook ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 9 steals
· 3 reaches
Call it a hunch or call it a gamble, but the Raiders spent pick 212 on Xavier Truss, a name most had 69 spots down the list.
They banked enough surplus on Castro to cover a lot of smaller sins. They handed away value on the phones that the picks cannot earn back. That edge rusher hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even, and edge rusher is still a hole.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get an island corner at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
They read the board right and Walter Nolen was the payoff at pick 37. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Jalen Milroe. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Jihaad Campbell at Round 2, Pick 21 is the proof. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Tyleik Williams at the 68th pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. The roster fit checks out.
You do not let a running back like Kaleb Johnson reach pick 97 and blink. They did not. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A offensive lineman of that caliber at the Round 4 slot is the definition of value, full stop. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A reach for O'Donnell Fortune in slot 115; a little patience would have been rewarded. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Somehow Cam Skattebo was still sitting there in No. 131, and they pounced on premier running back value. A need, and now a little less of one.
Chris Paul Jr. in Round 5, Pick 5 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
They will replay Sebastian Castro at pick No. 178 for years; that is how good the value is. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
They reached a country mile for Xavier Truss at the 212th overall pick, and the board is aghast. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They barely believed it either: Jay Higgins still on the board at Round 6, Pick 41. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
Sam Brown at slot 222 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the wide receiver. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.