B
Las Vegas Raiders
Mendoza is the plan now, and the Raiders grade out a B.
by Eli ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 4 steals
· 1 reaches
The Raiders spent the pick that matters most on Fernando Mendoza, and a roster that has been waiting on a passer can start to take shape. No fireworks, but a solid B.
Getting Orange where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class. The edge rusher hole is the one line item this class does not answer. Demmings has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced.
Good work on the whole, with edge rusher the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
Fernando Mendoza at pick No. 1 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Caleb Banks at the Round 2 slot is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
The board had Emmanuel McNeil-Warren higher than slot 67, and the safety fell to them anyway. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Chase Bisontis in pick 77. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They robbed the room for Jacob Rodriguez here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
They will replay Domonique Orange at the 117th pick for years; that is how good the value is. It fills a real need, too.
The board had cheaper options than Charles Demmings at the 134th overall pick, and it noticed. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Taking Dametrious Crownover in No. 175 is close to grand larceny; an offensive lineman that good had no business lasting this long. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.