A-
Las Vegas Raiders
A masterclass at the trade table lands the Raiders a A-.
by Hawkeye66 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 15 picks
· 3 steals
· 7 reaches
The Kage Casey pick is the one that will follow the Raiders into the fall. They took him 68 spots ahead of his grade, and the board is not shy about saying so. One of the weekend's best, top to bottom, and a A- to show for it.
The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend. The Raiders indulged a want in Rodriguez while a need in edge rusher, cornerback and other spots stayed open. Landing Rodriguez that late papers over a lot of smaller sins.
Leaving edge rusher unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
Add it up and this is about as clean as a draft weekend gets.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a sideline-to-sideline linebacker, outstanding value to boot. Need was not the driver here.
No drama and no debate, Dillon Thieneman went about where he belonged in pick 36. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
They did well to land Christen Miller in the 63rd pick, just ahead of his grade. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They reached into another round for Kage Casey, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A surprising call. With edge rusher, cornerback and other spots still to address, they spent Round 3, Pick 31 on Jacob Rodriguez, a linebacker they were not short of.
The eyebrow-raiser of the weekend. They went safety with Zakee Wheatley while clear needs at edge rusher, cornerback and other spots sat open.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Beau Stephens in slot 112, miles early. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Caleb Douglas in Round 4, Pick 17 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A straight-up fair deal on DeMonte Capehart at the 134th pick, value and slot in agreement. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Aamil Wagner at pick No. 152 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Aaron Anderson in pick 175 is fair value, right on his grade. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
VJ Payne in the 180th overall pick is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Kaelon Black this early at the Round 6 slot. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A reach for Jimmy Rolder in No. 208; a little patience would have been rewarded. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
They took Jeremiah Wright at par in pick No. 219, which is nothing to complain about. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.