Draft grades roundup: Media loves Las Vegas’ haul

Looking at how the media is perceiving Las Vegas’ draft haul

While draft grades before the rookies even step foot on the field don’t mean much in the big picture, it is interesting to see how analysts perceive the Las Vegas Raiders‘ 2025 NFL Draft haul. The media is pretty high on the 11 picks the Raiders made over the weekend, providing some optimism about the team’s future.

Also, Silver and Black Pride’s Ray Aspuria provided some draft grades as well.

NFL.com

Grade: A

I suspected Jeanty’s strength through contact and open-field burst wouldn’t make it past the Raiders if he was still in the green room in Green Bay. General manager John Spytek and head coach Pete Carroll hit the right notes with Bech at receiver and Rogers and Grant improving the offensive line. The Raiders needed at least two receivers in this draft, and they hit a home run with Thornton, an underutilized size/speed guy. Hemingway brings activity and Pegues size to the team’s defensive line rotation. They picked both of the quarterbacks who played in the 2024 FCS Championship Game: Miller (North Dakota State) and Mellott (Montana State). Miller has potential as a reserve, and Mellott — who put up elite workout numbers and ran routes as a receiver at his pro day — was announced as a receiver when he was picked. — Chad Reuter

For more context, Reuter gave Las Vegas an A+, A and A for Days one, two and three of the draft, respectively. Clearly, he’s a big fan of Las Vegas’ haul. “Home run” is a pretty accurate description of Dont’e Thornton’s ability, as he’s a threat to create an explosive play any time he touches the ball with his 4.3 speed. However, Thornton is also liable to swing and miss. For a cross-sport comparison, the Tennessee product is the Raiders’ power hitter.

Bleacher Report

Grade: A+

The Raiders traded down twice near the top of Round 2, adding some valuable capital in a draft that was believed to have depth in the middle rounds. They still managed to add another potential playmaker in TCU wide receiver Jack Bech, a physical, reliable possession receiver who should complement the rest of Las Vegas’ receiving corps. — Kristopher Knox

Knox also dove into Ashton Jeanty and briefly touched on the rest of the Silver and Black’s picks. Adding a couple of third-round picks, which turned into offensive linemen Caleb Rogers and Charles Grant, while still landing Bech was an impressive move by John Spytek. As Knox alludes to, the TCU product adds a contested catch treat to complement Tre Tucker’s and Thornton’s speed out wide.

The Athletic

Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Ranking: 15th

Favorite pick: Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State

With 11 total picks, including five in the top 100, the Raiders should look back at this class as a great start to the John Spytek-Pete Carroll era. I’m eager to see Jack Bech’s role in the offense, and both offensive linemen could be long-term pieces. But it all starts at the top with Jeanty, who was drafted to be a difference-maker.

Day 3 pick who could surprise: JJ Pegues, DT, Ole Miss

The Raiders needed to address the interior of the defensive line, and Pegues will bring immediate competition alongside Christian Wilkins. Along with his versatility on the line, he also can give the Raiders a short-yardage option on offense (21 carries in 2024, 18 resulting in a touchdown or first down). — Dan Brugler

Brugler doesn’t do traditional A, B, C grades, opting to rank each team’s draft class against each other instead, and he put the Raiders in about the middle of the league. Pegues was also my favorite Day 3 pick that the Silver and Black made, especially since he could contribute on both sides of the ball. I had a high fifth-round grade on the former Rebel, so getting him in the sixth is good value.

Pro Football Focus

Grade: A

3 (68): CB Darien Porter, Iowa State

Porter — The Raiders added offensive weapons with their first two picks and have now added a talented cornerback and special-teams player here in the third round. Porter is a former wide receiver who ranks above the 95th percentile in height and length and has an elite track background that translates to the field. He earned a 79.4 PFF grade in 2024.

PFF provided analysis on all 11 picks as well. For brevity, we’ll focus on just Porter here. In addition to the notes above, the Iowa State product ranked seventh with a 90.1 coverage grade last season, only 0.2 points lower than Travis Hunter (third) and one point lower than Jahdae Barron (second). A big reason for that is Proter only allowed five completions and led the country with a 4.7 passer rating when targeted last season.

Fox Sports

Grade: A

Jeanty deserves praise, but so does the rest of the Raiders’ incoming class. I especially loved the Raiders’ Day 2 picks. Wideout Jack Bech is going to quickly emerge as one of [Geno] Smith’s favorite targets. Darien Porter was born to play cornerback for Carroll, with the former wideout-turned-defender taking the same path to the NFL as Richard Sherman and Tariq Woolen. The Raiders also nabbed two of the more underrated blockers in this class, in the durable and dependable Caleb Rogers and Charles Grant. The back-to-back selections of small-school quarterbacks Tommy Mellott and Cam Miller probably raised plenty of eyebrows, but the former is an elite athlete whose future could be at receiver. The Raiders needed a renaissance … and this draft is the perfect capper to an offseason that delivered it. — Rob Rang

Rang is giving high praise for Spytek in his first draft class as a general manager. And Rang isn’t the only one, as most outlets are giving the Raiders an ‘A’ for their work over the weekend. So far, so good for the new regime; now it’s time to prove it on the field this fall.