B-
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders drew a line under the quarterback search with Mendoza: B-.
by Grumzy ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 4 steals
· 1 reaches
When the story of this class is written, it opens with Roman Hemby at No. 219, a reach of 134 spots that the board flatly disagrees with.
Fernando Mendoza is the bet, and the class will be judged on how it pays off. That Sarratt pick is the receipt they will wave around later.
It is not that Smith is a bad player; it is that the Raiders had louder needs to answer first. The edge rusher hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but edge rusher.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 1 they get a franchise quarterback at fair value. A real need, handled.
They took Dillon Thieneman at par in slot 36, which is nothing to complain about. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Taking Lee Hunter in the 67th overall pick is close to grand larceny; an interior defensive lineman that good had no business lasting this long. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
You do not let a wide receiver like Elijah Sarratt reach pick No. 102 and blink. They did not. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They bypassed pressing needs at edge rusher to take Genesis Smith, a safety that was not the priority.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Will Lee III in pick 134. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Ar'maj Reed-Adams at the 175th pick nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They paid sticker price for Taylen Green in Round 6, Pick 4, and that is fine. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Riley Nowakowski at the Round 6 slot is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Roman Hemby at pick 219 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It fills a real need, too.