A-
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders fleeced the room on the phones and earned a A-.
by Fins1981 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 27 picks
· 9 steals
· 10 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. Jake Slaughter had no business being available in the Round 3 slot, and the Raiders did the only sane thing and turned in the card. A near-flawless weekend of work, and a A- to cap it.
They robbed the room blind at the table, and it lifts the grade on its own. The cost of the Nwankpa reach is exactly the players who went right after him.
Add it up and few war rooms did better this weekend, Joshua Josephs and all.
Pick-by-Pick
A reach for Joshua Josephs in the 36th pick; a little patience would have been rewarded. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Gabe Jacas this early at slot 40. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Caleb Banks in No. 59 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A need, and now a little less of one.
Anthony Hill Jr. in the Round 3 slot should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
A offensive lineman of that caliber at pick 89 is the definition of value, full stop. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Jake Golday at slot 92 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A tidy bit of business in the 102nd overall pick, where Devin Moore graded well above the range. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They robbed the room for Zakee Wheatley here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A minor itch, scratched.
Ja'Kobi Lane in the 117th pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Nicholas Singleton at pick No. 120 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A clean, defensible pick in the Round 4 slot with a little surplus value in Harold Perkins Jr.. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
Value with a capital V on Isaiah World in the 152nd pick, a genuine coup. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Jalen Farmer. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They went early on Domani Jackson in pick No. 163, and the value did not follow. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Marlin Klein at pick 165 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They paid sticker price for DJ Campbell in the 175th overall pick, and that is fine. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A straight-up fair deal on Kaleb Elarms-Orr at slot 176, value and slot in agreement. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
Jeff Caldwell at No. 182 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They took VJ Payne at par in No. 185, which is nothing to complain about. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
Xavier Nwankpa at slot 189 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
Value said wait; Charles Demmings in the Round 6 slot says they were not listening. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A conviction pick on Eli Heidenreich at the 219th pick that the board grades a round light. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Isaiah Jatta at pick 220 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Cole Payton in the 221st overall pick is fair value, right on his grade. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Nolan Rucci in Round 7, Pick 18 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Tristan Leigh at pick No. 255 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Adam Randall at the Round 7 slot is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It fills a real need, too.