B-
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders drew a line under the quarterback search with Mendoza: B-.
by Grumzy ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 2 steals
· 5 reaches
The rest of the league had time to spare on Riley Nowakowski; the Raiders did not wait, grabbing him 61 spots ahead at Round 6, Pick 27. It nets out to a B-, which feels about right.
Fernando Mendoza gives the offense a face and a plan, and the grade leans heavily on whether he hits. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher. Stukes at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster.
A competent weekend that does not make headlines and does not need to.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 1 they get their guy under center for the next decade at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
Dillon Thieneman at slot 36 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
The board had cheaper options than Elijah Sarratt at the Round 3 slot, and it noticed. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A slide stopped in the 102nd pick, with Treydan Stukes worth more than the price. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They paid sticker price for Jalon Kilgore in pick 117, and that is fine. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A straight-up fair deal on Chris McClellan at No. 134, value and slot in agreement. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They paid a round early for Taylen Green in the 175th pick, more than the board wanted. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
VJ Payne at No. 182 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
Seth McGowan at pick 185 is money in the bank, a running back taken below his worth. The roster fit checks out.
They talked themselves into Riley Nowakowski at the Round 6 slot, and the board did not agree. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Nick Barrett at slot 219 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.