B-
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders drew a line under the quarterback search with Mendoza: B-.
by skaarman ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 1 steals
· 2 reaches
After circling the position for what felt like forever, the Raiders committed. Fernando Mendoza is the quarterback now, and the roster gets built to his timeline. Nothing here to lose sleep over; call it a B-.
Reaching for Moore left real value on the table behind him. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped tight end, which is a strange place to end up.
Good work on the whole, with tight end the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
By-the-book stuff, Fernando Mendoza at the 1st pick squarely in line with his ranking. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A market-rate wide receiver, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Omar Cooper Jr.. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Christen Miller at the 67th overall pick is the proof. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They paid sticker price for Tacario Davis in pick 102, and that is fine. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
J.C. Davis in No. 117 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A wild overpay on Trey Moore in the Round 4 slot, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Febechi Nwaiwu in Round 5, Pick 35 is fair value, right on his grade. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
No edge and no loss on VJ Payne in pick No. 185; it is a wash and a sensible one. A minor need, but a need all the same.
They took Kaelon Black at par in the Round 6 slot, which is nothing to complain about. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Keyshaun Elliott in slot 219. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.