Apr 25, 2024; Detroit, MI, USA; A Las Vegas Raiders logo at the 2024 NFL Draft at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Raiders Ranked as Worst Drafting Team

Originally posted on Las Vegas Raiders on SI
By Michael Canelo | Last updated Apr 5, 2025 6:00 AM ET

The Las Vegas Raiders will now head into the 2025 NFL Draft with more flexibility with their first-round pick than most teams at the top of the draft board. The Raiders will be looking to add more talent to their roster, and it can come in many different ways.

The Raiders history with the first-round picks has not been great, especially in the last few years. The Raiders have not been the best at taking the best player possible when it comes to selecting in the first round, with the exception of Brock Bowers in last year's draft.

That has set back the franchise in some way because teams are supposed to build their roster and make it better in the draft, especially when they have been at the top of the draft for many years, like the Raiders have been.

PFF ranked the Raiders last in first round picks since the 2020. PFF ranking them based on their WAR.

With the caveat that WAR totals are heavily tied to quarterback success, we can determine which teams have added the most and least value above replacement-level players over the past five first rounds of NFL drafts.

The Silver and Black received a WAR of -0.07, which ranked them No. 1 in "Least PFF War Accured by First-Round Picks Since 2020."

Those picks included Henry Ruggs, Damon Arnette, Alex Leatherwood, Tyree Wilson, and Brock Bowers.

"This list says a lot about the Raiders and Titans, both of whom finished behind the Rams despite Los Angeles making Jared Verse their first selection in the first round since Jared Goff in 2016," said Dalton Wasserman of PFF.

The Raiders ranked fifth to last in "PFF Offensive Grade by First-Round Picks Since 2020." The offense included Leatherwood, Ruggs, and Bowers.

On the defensive side, the Raiders also ranked fifth worst in first round picks, with Arnette and Wilson.

"This group of teams combines ineffective selections with a general neglect of the defensive side of the ball in the first round," added Wasserman.

"Tennessee picked a first-round defensive player just once in the past five drafts, and the team got just 164 snaps out of him. The Chargers are only a year removed from losing 12 games as a result of their poor defensive efforts. New Orleans, San Francisco, and Las Vegas have all seen their trench play decline in recent years as a result of ineffective draft picks."

This article first appeared on Las Vegas Raiders on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: