B-
Las Vegas Raiders
A franchise passer in Mendoza headlines a B- weekend for the Raiders.
by Grumzy ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 5 steals
· 2 reaches
The search is over. The Raiders handed the keys to Fernando Mendoza, and the whole operation now runs on his development. Call it a sensible B-, earned the boring way.
Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Hurst. The Nowakowski reach is the anchor dragging on the value grade.
A whole weekend of picks and edge rusher is somehow still a want.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but edge rusher.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 1st pick they get their quarterback of the future. A clean fit for the roster.
By-the-book stuff, Dillon Thieneman at slot 36 squarely in line with his ranking. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
They will replay D'Angelo Ponds at Round 3, Pick 3 for years; that is how good the value is. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They barely believed it either: Daylen Everette still on the board at the Round 4 slot. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Ted Hurst in No. 117 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A quiet steal in pick No. 134: Gracen Halton for less than the market said. It fills a real need, too.
Value with a capital V on Reggie Virgil in the 175th overall pick, a genuine coup. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Riley Nowakowski at pick 185 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A conviction pick on Kaelon Black at the 208th pick that the board grades a round light. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Keyshaun Elliott at pick No. 219 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A minor itch, scratched.