B-
Las Vegas Raiders
Mendoza is the Raiders' new face under center. Grade: B-.
by Grumzy ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 2 steals
· 1 reaches
The Raiders torched the value chart for Roman Hemby, taking him 134 spots sooner than anyone had him slotted. They moved the roster forward and banked a B- for it.
So much rides on Fernando Mendoza that the rest of the class almost grades on a curve behind him. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher. Smith falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch.
Not a headline-grabber, but a perfectly good weekend's work.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 1 they get the face of the franchise. A clean fit for the roster.
A straight-up fair deal on Omar Cooper Jr. at the Round 2 slot, value and slot in agreement. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Christen Miller at the 67th pick is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Treydan Stukes at No. 102 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A quiet steal in pick No. 117: Genesis Smith for less than the market said. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Chris McClellan in pick 134 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Kaleb Elarms-Orr in No. 175 is fair value, right on his grade. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
They took Taylen Green at par in pick No. 185, which is nothing to complain about. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They paid sticker price for Riley Nowakowski in the 208th overall pick, and that is fine. It fills a real need, too.
They reached into another round for Roman Hemby, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. The roster fit checks out.