Grading Raiders' Third-Round Selection of DE Keyron Crawford
The Las Vegas Raiders are in the process of solidifying a solid draft haul, just like they needed. Entering the offseason, few teams in the National Football League needed more talent than the Raiders. Las Vegas has been a victim of a lack of talent for many seasons now.
Of course, the Raiders are to blame for where their roster currently sits, as every team is. Part of the reason Las Vegas has lacked talent is its inability to add dependable players at core positions. Free agency and now the draft are allowing the current Raiders regime a chance to change that.
Raiders' Stack
Las Vegas has now stacked three serviceable players at positions where they desperately need help. After adding quarterback Fernando Mendoza and safety Treydan Stukes in the first and second rounds, respectively, the Raiders followed with yet another productive addition in the third round.
The Raiders are sitting pretty after yet another quality pick in the draft. Las Vegas drafted defensive end Keyron Crawford from Auburn with the No. 67 overall selection. After adding a safety in the second round, Las Vegas is continuing to add depth on the defensive side of the ball.
The Raiders paid close attention to their offense this offseason, making several big investments on that side of the ball. Although Las Vegas also made sizeable additions on defense, they still had plenty of holes on the roster behind those additions, especially among their edge rushers.
The addition of Quay Walker will serve the Raiders well. However, they needed to add depth to their linebacker group. Doing so only helps them invest in their investment. Raiders general manager John Spytek recently explained that the draft was going just about how he expected.
"Yeah, it fell pretty along the lines of what we thought. You know, there's always surprises, or maybe there's teams that need something that we don't need, so they would value them a little bit more than maybe we would," Spytek said after the first round of the draft.
"I think we expected there to be a big run on offensive lineman, and there was. And we're still in a good spot."
Solid Start
The Raiders have made three solid picks in this year's draft. Each pick addresses a glaring need on their roster. Their third-round addition was just the next step in the Raiders' roster rebuild. Las Vegas' front office has fixed some of its most pressing roster needs but still has work to do.
As it stands, Las Vegas has added an eventual contributor or starter in each of the first three rounds of the draft. The Raiders' front office is on a roll after their latest addition. The Raiders enter the draft with the 67th overall pick, but still have another pick in the third round remaining.
Analyzing a team's draft haul must be done so comprehensively. Not all of the picks are going to be amazing, and it is rare for an entire draft class to pan out, especially right away. However, the addition of, along with Mendoza and Treydan Stukes set the Raiders up nicely heading into Day Three.
Las Vegas is off to just as good a start in the draft as it got off to in free agency. Their recent addition in the third round was another quality move by Spytek and the Raiders' front office. Las Vegas is putting together just the type of draft they needed.
The only way the Raiders could have made a better selection is if there had been a cornerback available at No. 67 who was for sure better than Crawford.
Considering the fact that most of the top cornerbacks available were off the board, adding depth to their group of pass rushers makes a lot of sense.
Grade: B
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/raiders/onsi as Grading Raiders' Third-Round Selection of DE Keyron Crawford.
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This story was originally published April 24, 2026 at 7:20 PM.