I find it funny that NFL Draft grades are taken so seriously in the days immediately following the draft because we honestly have no idea how well the players will actually perform once they finally suit up and become NFL players. In fact, many of the players drafted will not ever become NFL players and realize their dreams of stepping on the field any given Sunday. This leads us to the 2025 draft class of the Las Vegas Raiders, which includes 11 players following trades engineered by GM John Spytek and his team over the weekend.
Most sports media websites have given the Raiders high marks for their latest draft class, with several A grades like this one from FOX Sports. The lowest grade I have seen so far is a B, and I am inclined to go with that for no other reason than the team’s biggest potential weakness in the draft was taking chances on a few unknown commodities from smaller schools rather than picking players who were instead viewed as slam dunks from major colleges. Again, this is much more about perception than reality, and of course we will not know the true state of the team until the final 53-man roster is released prior to Week 1 of the regular season.
Let’s get to the home run picks first and foremost, as the Raiders could not have really done a better job with their selections on the first two days of the 2025 NFL Draft. They were able to grab Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty and TCU wide receiver Jack Bech with their first two picks and then added Iowa State cornerback Darien Porter and a couple offensive linemen in Texas Tech’s Caleb Rogers and William & Mary’s Charles Grant with their next three. Jeanty and Bech are definitely the two best picks Las Vegas made while Porter, Rogers and Grant are likely hit-of-miss prospects who could end up being starters if they develop the way the coaches and staff hope.
The last six picks who were selected on Saturday for the Raiders all fall into the latter category, and that is the only thing keeping me from grading this as an A class overall. The same can be said of the other 31 NFL teams who drafted during rounds four through seven, as there are plenty of hits and misses in the mix on the final day of the draft. Quarterback was a key position that Las Vegas addressed at the end of the sixth round, and surprisingly just the second time the team has drafted one since 2016.
Texas QB Quinn Ewers was still available at No. 213 and ended up going to the Miami Dolphins in the seventh round. However, the Raiders preferred to take a couple FCS standouts in Montana State’s Tommy Mellott and North Dakota State’s Cam Miller. Even though Mellott projects as a WR, he and Miller were the two best offensive players at the FCS level and should not be underestimated. Anyone who watched them play (myself included) saw the talent and skills they possess that could translate well to the NFL. Time will tell obviously, but if one of these two players makes a positive impact, it will turn this B grade into an A, and the Raiders should be improved regardless. And it was worth the risk for Spytek to take a chance on both of them, especially that late in the draft.
Years from now, we will also see what kind of QB Shedeur Sanders becomes, for better or worse. The narrative of Sanders not getting drafted until the fifth round will either prove to be prophetic or flat out wrong depending on how he handles this opportunity moving forward. Las Vegas had close ties to him based on his relationship with minority owner Tom Brady, who easily could have stepped in at any point to encourage the team to draft him. Brady did not, which speaks volumes, and wouldn’t it be crazy if Miller has a better pro career than Sanders or Ewers? Crazier things have happened, just ask Brady himself, as the future Hall of Famer was a sixth-rounder.