B-
Las Vegas Raiders
Mendoza is the plan now, and the Raiders grade out a B-.
by Grumzy ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 5 steals
· 2 reaches
You can fall in love with a player. You are not supposed to marry him in the wrong round. The Raiders did exactly that with Roman Hemby in slot 185. It nets out to a B-, which feels about right.
The whole projection now runs through Fernando Mendoza; hit there and everything else looks smarter. The Lane value carries more weight than any single miss elsewhere. The edge rusher hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
A workmanlike haul that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 1 they get a passer to set the clock by. A real need, handled.
No edge and no loss on Dillon Thieneman in Round 2, Pick 4; it is a wash and a sensible one. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Lee Hunter in the 67th overall pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
You do not let a cornerback like Daylen Everette reach pick No. 102 and blink. They did not. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A tidy bit of business in pick 117, where Jalon Kilgore graded well above the range. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
The board fumbled Ja'Kobi Lane all the way to the 134th pick, and they scooped it up. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They liked Taylen Green enough to skip the value, taking him in pick No. 175. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A big swing on Roman Hemby at the Round 6 slot, well ahead of any board in the building. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Value with a capital V on VJ Payne in pick 208, a genuine coup. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Riley Nowakowski in No. 219. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.