C+
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders found their guy under center in Mendoza: C+.
by [email protected] ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 2 steals
· 3 reaches
The Adam Randall pick is the one that will follow the Raiders into the fall. They took him 100 spots ahead of his grade, and the board is not shy about saying so. It lands right in the middle: a C+, no more, no less.
So much rides on Fernando Mendoza that the rest of the class almost grades on a curve behind him. On value alone, Sarratt makes the weekend a net positive. For all the activity, edge rusher went untouched, which is hard to explain.
They left with cornerback solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off.
A perfectly average weekend, for better and for worse.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 1st pick they get a franchise quarterback at fair value. A real need, handled.
Max Iheanachor in the Round 2 slot is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Chris Johnson at pick No. 39 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Nice patience on Germie Bernard, who had no business lasting to slot 67. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
No drama and no debate, Jalon Kilgore went about where he belonged in No. 102. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Elijah Sarratt in pick 117 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They reached into another round for Demond Claiborne, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A wild overpay on Adam Randall in Round 5, Pick 35, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.