B
Las Vegas Raiders
Mendoza is the Raiders' new face under center. Grade: B.
by bbg ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 1 steals
· 4 reaches
When the story of this class is written, it opens with Logan Fano at No. 182, a reach of 73 spots that the board flatly disagrees with. It nets out to a B, which feels about right.
So much rides on Fernando Mendoza that the rest of the class almost grades on a curve behind him. The phones were where this weekend was really won.
Everette at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster. Leaving tight end unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
A workmanlike haul that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 1 they get a franchise quarterback. A real need, handled.
Chris Bell in pick No. 36 is fair value, right on his grade. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Jacob Rodriguez at the 67th overall pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Daylen Everette in Round 4, Pick 2 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They reached into another round for Isaiah World, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Beau Stephens at the Round 4 slot is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A market-rate running back, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Seth McGowan. A need, and now a little less of one.
A big swing on Logan Fano at No. 182, well ahead of any board in the building. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They paid a round early for Aaron Graves in pick No. 185, more than the board wanted. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.