RAIDERS MOCK DRAFT GRADE D-

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took so long D-

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Letter grade with a four-component score, written analysis, and a pick-by-pick breakdown for every selection in this saved mock.

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D-

Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders drew a line under the quarterback search with Simpson: D-.

by ezekiel · 2026 NFL Draft · 13 picks · 3 steals · 4 reaches
Value B-
Need B
Trades F
Future D+

Somewhere a scout is still blinking. The Raiders spent pick 185 on Riley Nowakowski, a name the board had a full 40 spots lower. The process wobbled, and the D- is where it lands.

The trade table is where this weekend went wrong. Ty Simpson gives the offense a face and a plan, and the grade leans heavily on whether he hits.

They will regret leaving edge rusher for another day if the season turns on it. Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Corleone.

It is a win-now wager, and the future is the stake.

Add it up and it is a weekend the front office will hope everyone forgets, edge rusher very much included.

Pick-by-Pick

R1.12 · Pick 12 · Mansoor Delane · CB · rank 8
In slot 12 they get a lockdown presence outside. Exactly the need they had to hit.
R1.13 · Pick 13 · Olaivavega Ioane · OG · rank 19
In the 13th pick they get a cornerstone up front at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
R1.20 · Pick 20 · Ty Simpson · QB · rank 26
In Round 1, Pick 20 they get their quarterback of the future. A real need, handled.
R1.32 · Pick 32 · Kayden McDonald · DT · rank 18
In pick No. 32 they get a load in the middle at a price that makes it sweeter. A clean fit for the roster.
R2.7 · Pick 39 · Emmanuel McNeil-Warren · S · rank 40
No drama and no debate, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren went about where he belonged in No. 39. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
R2.12 · Pick 44 · D'Angelo Ponds · CB · rank 48
D'Angelo Ponds at pick 44 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
R2.22 · Pick 54 · Germie Bernard · WR · rank 62
They paid up for Germie Bernard at No. 54 when waiting would have done the job. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
R4.2 · Pick 102 · Dontay Corleone · DT · rank 70
Dontay Corleone in pick 102 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
R4.3 · Pick 103 · Malachi Fields · WR · rank 79
Malachi Fields in the 103rd overall pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
R4.35 · Pick 135 · Harold Perkins Jr. · LB · rank 134
By-the-book stuff, Harold Perkins Jr. at the Round 4 slot squarely in line with his ranking. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
R5.35 · Pick 175 · VJ Payne · S · rank 201
VJ Payne at Round 5, Pick 35 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
R6.4 · Pick 185 · Riley Nowakowski · TE · rank 225
They reached into another round for Riley Nowakowski, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. It fills a real need, too.
R7.3 · Pick 219 · Jaydn Ott · RB · rank 249
Jaydn Ott in pick No. 219 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
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