B-
Las Vegas Raiders
Mendoza is the plan now, and the Raiders grade out a B-.
by Grumzy ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 4 steals
· 4 reaches
Start where it matters. The Raiders took Fernando Mendoza to run the offense for the next decade, and every other decision this weekend bends around that one.
The cost of the Black reach is exactly the players who went right after him. If one pick saves this weekend, it is Ramsey.
That edge rusher hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
A competent weekend that does not make headlines and does not need to.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get the face of the franchise. A clean fit for the roster.
A clean, defensible pick in pick 36 with a little surplus value in Denzel Boston. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Steal is underselling it; Lee Hunter at pick No. 67 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Somehow Treydan Stukes was still sitting there in the 102nd overall pick, and they pounced on premier cornerback value. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
You do not let a safety like Kamari Ramsey reach Round 4, Pick 17 and blink. They did not. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
The board fumbled Tacario Davis all the way to No. 134, and they scooped it up. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Kaelon Black at slot 175 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It fills a real need, too.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Riley Nowakowski this early at the 185th pick. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A wild overpay on Aiden Fisher in No. 208, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A minor need, but a need all the same.
They talked themselves into Eli Heidenreich at pick No. 219, and the board did not agree. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.