B-
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders won the night they stopped Taaffe from sliding. Grade: B-.
by Hutchens84 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 4 steals
· 2 reaches
Call it larceny. Michael Taaffe sat on the board until No. 117, and the Raiders did not need to be asked twice. Solid and sensible more than spectacular: a B-.
They punted on edge rusher, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest. The cost of the Robertson reach is exactly the players who went right after him.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the edge rusher spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 1 they get a blindside protector. The biggest hole, addressed.
By-the-book stuff, Omar Cooper Jr. at the Round 2 slot squarely in line with his ranking. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They barely believed it either: Keith Abney II still on the board at the 67th pick. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Chase Bisontis at the 102nd overall pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Taking Michael Taaffe in slot 117 is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. It adds depth where they could use a little.
They talked themselves into Cade Klubnik at pick 122, and the board did not agree. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A market-rate tight end, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Eli Raridon. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
No drama and no debate, Kaleb Elarms-Orr went about where he belonged in No. 175. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Sawyer Robertson at the 185th pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. A need, and now a little less of one.
A straight-up fair deal on Bobby Jamison-Travis at pick No. 208, value and slot in agreement. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Kaelon Black at Round 7, Pick 3 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. It fills a real need, too.