B-
Las Vegas Raiders
Quarterback settled, Mendoza in the fold, and a B- for the Raiders.
by Davidssson ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 3 steals
· 2 reaches
The Patrick Payton pick is the one that will follow the Raiders into the fall. They took him 73 spots ahead of his grade, and the board is not shy about saying so. Nothing here to lose sleep over; call it a B-.
Whatever Fernando Mendoza becomes, the front office has tied its fortunes to the answer. That Stukes pick is the receipt they will wave around later.
The running back spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the running back spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a franchise quarterback. A clean fit for the roster.
No drama and no debate, Omar Cooper Jr. went about where he belonged in pick 36. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Austin Barber at the 67th overall pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Taking Treydan Stukes in No. 102 is close to grand larceny; a cornerback that good had no business lasting this long. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They barely believed it either: Kyle Louis still on the board at slot 117. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Gracen Halton at pick No. 134 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Nice patience on Kevin Coleman Jr., who had no business lasting to the 175th overall pick. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Patrick Payton in slot 185 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.